HR 3568119th CongressIn Committee

AG RESEARCH Act

Introduced: May 21, 2025

Agriculture & FoodInfrastructure

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The AG RESEARCH Act (H.R. 3568) would overhaul elements of the Research Facilities Act and related agricultural research law to address a long-standing backlog of repairs and upgrades at U.S. agricultural research facilities. It creates a new, competitive grant program within the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to fund construction, alteration, modernization, and equipment essential for conducting agricultural research. The bill envisions substantial federal funding—potentially covering a large share of project costs in some cases—and directs considerations to ensure geographic and institutional equity, diversity of disciplines, and a mix of facility sizes. It also strengthens the proposal evaluation process by requiring consultation with NIFA peer review panels. If enacted, the bill would significantly boost federal investment in facilities used by colleges, universities, and other research entities to advance agricultural science.

Key Points

1Addresses deferred maintenance: The bill highlights the growing backlog of repairs and modernization needs at agricultural research facilities and ties funding to maintaining U.S. agricultural research competitiveness.
2New grant program (Section 4): Establishes a competitive grant program within NIFA to cover the federal share of costs for constructing, altering, acquiring, renovating, or equipping agricultural research facilities and related equipment.
3Flexible federal funding: Allows for up to 100% federal share on a case-by-case basis, rather than a fixed cost-sharing split.
4Equity and distribution requirements: Grants should promote equitable geographic distribution, diverse institutions, a range of agricultural disciplines, and facilities of various sizes; no more than 20% of funds can go to projects in any single state.
5Funding mechanism: Creates mandatory funding streams and authorization for additional appropriations:
6- Mandatory funding: $500 million transferred annually (Oct 1, 2025 through Oct 1, 2029) to support Section 4 activities, available until expended.
7- Additional appropriations: Up to $1 billion per year (FY 2026–FY 2030) for study, planning, design, structuring, and related facility costs.
8Evaluation and oversight: Proposals would be reviewed in consultation with NIFA peer review panels, reinforcing expert input into grant selections.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Agricultural research facilities at colleges, universities, and other institutions that conduct federally funded agricultural research (through NIFA and related programs).Secondary group/area affected: Researchers, students, and staff who rely on up-to-date facilities; state and regional research networks; and institutions that may gain funding for major renovations or new equipment.Additional impacts: Could accelerate modernization of infrastructure, improve research capacity and competitiveness globally, and influence where new facilities or major renovation projects are pursued due to capped funding per state and emphasis on equitable distribution. The mandatory funding approach would create predictable allocations for facility upgrades over the latter half of the 2020s.The bill cites sizable prior and ongoing deferred-maintenance estimates for agricultural schools (e.g., $8.4B in 2015 and $11.5B in 2021 in replacement costs) and ties the funding rationale to sustaining the U.S. agricultural research base.Introduced May 21, 2025, by Rep. Schrier (for herself and Rep. Mann) and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

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