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To amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to provide for grants to support plant and microbial biology research with potential relevance to agriculture, food, or biotechnology, and for other purposes.
Summary
The bill would amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to authorize NSF grants for plant and microbial biology research with potential applications to agriculture, food, or biotechnology. Grants would be awarded on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to universities, nonprofit organizations, private companies, and government entities. The authorized research would include fundamental plant biology research and development of tools and technologies to enable such research. The bill authorizes $150 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2031 for these grants. The bill also adds a definition of nonprofit organization for purposes of NSF programs.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19] (D-NY)
2 cosponsors
- Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4] (R-IN)
- Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO)
Actions (2)
- Mar 16, 2026 Introduced in House
- Mar 16, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. · house
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2026
Mr. Riley of New York (for himself and Mr. Baird) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
A BILL
To amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to provide for grants to support plant and microbial biology research with potential relevance to agriculture, food, or biotechnology, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Plant Biological Research at the National Science Foundation Act” or the “NSF Plant Biology Act”.
SEC. 2. FUNDAMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY RESEARCH.
(a) In General.—The National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“SEC. 27. FUNDAMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY RESEARCH.
“(a) In General.—The Director may award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private sector entities, and Federal, State, local, or Tribal governments, or a consortia of such institutions, entities, or governments, to support plant and microbial biology research with potential relevance to agriculture, food, or biotechnology, including relating to the following:
“(1) Fundamental research regarding plant biology.
“(2) Tools, resources, and technology that further enable plant biology.
“(b) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to carry out this section.”.
(b) Definition Amendment.—Section 4 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended by—
(1) redesignating paragraphs (13) through (16) as paragraphs (14) through (17), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following new paragraph:
“(13) Nonprofit organization.—The term ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 15 501(a) of such Code.”. <all>
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