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SEC. 7518. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, AND
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION JOINT RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out, with the Secretary
of Energy and the Director of the National Science Foundation, cross-
cutting and collaborative research and development activities focused
on the joint advancement of Department of Agriculture, Department of
Energy, and National Science Foundation mission requirements and
priorities.
(b) Memoranda of Understanding.--The Secretary shall carry out and
coordinate the activities under subsection (a) through the
establishment of one or more memoranda of understanding, or other
appropriate interagency agreements, with the Secretary of Energy and
the Director of the National Science Foundation.
(c) Coordination.--In carrying out the activities under subsection
(a), the Secretary, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of the
National Science Foundation may--
(1) conduct collaborative research over a variety of focus
areas, such as--
(A) modeling and simulation, machine learning,
artificial intelligence, data assimilation, large-scale
data analytics, and predictive analysis in order to
optimize algorithms for purposes relating to
agriculture and rural energy, such as life cycle
analysis of agricultural or rural energy systems;
(B) fundamental agricultural, biological,
computational, and environmental science and
engineering, including advanced crop science, crop
protection, breeding, and biological pest control;
(C) integrated natural resources and the energy-
water nexus in agricultural or rural communities;
(D) advanced biomass, biobased products, and
biofuels, including in collaboration with the
activities authorized under title IX of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C.
8101 et seq.);
(E) diverse feedstocks for economically and
environmentally sustainable fuels, including aviation
and naval fuels;
(F) colocation of agricultural resources and
activities and ecosystem services with diverse energy
technologies and resources, such as geothermal energy,
nuclear energy, solar energy, wind energy, natural gas,
hydropower, and energy storage;
(G) colocation of agricultural resources and
activities with carbon storage and utilization
technologies;
(H) invasive species management to further the work
done by the Federal Interagency Committee for the
Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds;
(I) long-term and high-risk technological barriers
in the development of transformative science and
technology solutions in the agriculture and energy
sectors, including in collaboration with the programs
authorized under section 1473H of the National
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3319k) and section 5012 of the
America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538);
(J) grid modernization and grid security and
resiliency for the purpose of improving and
strengthening electric service in rural areas;
(K) agricultural and rural technology development,
including manufacturing, precision agriculture
technologies, mechanization and automation
technologies, and technologies that strengthen the food
supply chain;
(L) wildfire risks and prevention, including the
power sector's role in fire prevention and mitigation
and wildfire impacts on energy infrastructure;
(M) technologies to address food and nutrition
security, including food loss and waste; and
(N) other relevant topics, as jointly agreed to by
the Secretary, the Secretary of Energy, and the
Director of the National Science Foundation;
(2) develop methods to accommodate large voluntary
standardized and integrated data sets on agricultural,
environmental, supply chain, and economic information with
variable accuracy and scale;
(3) promote collaboration, open community-based
development, and data and information sharing between Federal
agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher
education, nonprofit institutions, industry partners, and other
appropriate entities by providing reliable access to secure
data and information that are in compliance with Federal rules
and regulations;
(4) support research infrastructure and workforce
development as the Secretary, the Secretary of Energy, and the
Director of the National Science Foundation determine
necessary; and
(5) conduct collaborative research, development, and
demonstration of methods and technologies--
(A) to improve the efficiency of agriculture
operations and processing of agricultural products; and
(B) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated
with such operations and such processing.
(d) Agreements.--In carrying out the activities under subsection
(a), the Secretary, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of the
National Science Foundation may--
(1) carry out reimbursable agreements between the
Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the
National Science Foundation, and other entities in order to
maximize the effectiveness of research and development; and
(2) collaborate with other Federal agencies as appropriate.
(e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of
the National Science Foundation shall jointly submit to the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture and the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives a report detailing the following:
(1) Interagency coordination between each Federal agency
involved in the research and development activities carried out
under this section.
(2) Potential opportunities to expand the technical
capabilities of the Department of Agriculture, the Department
of Energy, and the National Science Foundation.
(3) Collaborative research achievements.
(4) Areas of future mutually beneficial successes.
(5) Continuation of coordination activities between the
Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the
National Science Foundation.
(f) Research Security.--The activities authorized under this
section shall be carried out in a manner consistent with subtitle D of
title VI of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation
Act (42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.).