
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC178c]

 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
      CHAPTER 8A--RUBBER AND OTHER CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL MATERIALS
 
             SUBCHAPTER II--CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL MATERIALS
 
Sec. 178c. Research and development program by Secretary of 
        Agriculture
        

(a) Designation of Department as lead agency

    The Department of Agriculture shall be the lead agency in carrying 
out this subchapter.

(b) Scope of program

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct, sponsor, promote, and 
coordinate basic and applied research, technology development, and 
technology transfer leading to effective and economical methods for 
large-scale culturing of plantations and the extraction of latex from 
Parthenium or other hydrocarbon-containing plants, and for the 
development of other critical agricultural materials from native 
agricultural crops having strategic and industrial importance. Such 
research shall include, but not be limited to--
        (1) carrying out extensive seed collections from wild plants in 
    Texas, Mexico, and other areas and borrowing or purchasing seeds 
    from other sources;
        (2) developing a stockpile of Parthenium seeds, such stockpile 
    to be appropriately classified and stored at a suitable facility;
        (3) accelerating present plant breeding, genetics, and selection 
    programs for the purpose of improving and increasing latex yields, 
    expanding insect and disease resistance, broadening the ranges of 
    drought and cold resistance of the Parthenium plant, and providing a 
    system of regional research trials for enhancing and increasing the 
    supply of foundation seed for certified seed production;
        (4) establishing a system of large-scale experimental plantings 
    (aggregating ten thousand acres or more) to provide shrub for 
    feedstock to process in the developmental rubber processing facility 
    described in paragraph (7);
        (5) carrying out specific studies on the effects of irrigation 
    on plant growth and latex yield and survival potential;
        (6) developing equipment needed to carry out nursery operations, 
    planting, cultivating, harvesting, transporting the crop, and other 
    necessary agricultural activities;
        (7) accelerating the refinement of present extraction and 
    processing technologies and future extraction technologies, 
    including the development and construction of a developmental rubber 
    processing facility for the extraction and production of test 
    quantities of guayule natural rubber;
        (8) establishing and maintaining a bank of all pertinent 
    research data on native latex including extant United States 
    Government publications and records from the emergency rubber 
    project. Such data shall be made available to other Federal and 
    State agencies and private persons who are interested or involved in 
    native latex research, development, or manufacture; and
        (9) studying the economic feasibility of developing other native 
    agricultural crops (in addition to Parthenium and other hydrocarbon-
    containing plants) that would supply critical agricultural materials 
    for strategic and industrial purposes, carrying out demonstration 
    projects to promote the development or commercialization of such 
    crops (including projects designed to expand domestic or foreign 
    markets for such crops), and, to the extent appropriate, carrying 
    out research activities with respect to such crops in the manner 
    specified in paragraphs (1) through (8).

(c) Office of Critical Agricultural Materials

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish within the Department 
of Agriculture an Office of Critical Agricultural Materials, as a 
central location where such Department can address research and 
development with respect to agricultural crops that have the potential 
of producing critical materials for strategic and industrial purposes.

(d) Authority of Secretary in carrying out demonstration project

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in carrying out a 
demonstration project referred to in subsection (b)(9) of this section, 
the Secretary may--
        (1) enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with, or 
    provide a grant to, any person, or public or private agency or 
    organization, to participate in, carry out, support, or stimulate 
    such project;
        (2) make available for purposes of clause (1) agricultural 
    commodities or the products thereof acquired by the Commodity Credit 
    Corporation under price support operations conducted by the 
    Corporation; or
        (3) use any funds appropriated pursuant to section 178n(a) of 
    this title, or any funds provided by any person, or public or 
    private agency or organization, to carry out such project or 
    reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation for agricultural 
    commodities or products that are utilized in connection with such 
    project.

(Pub. L. 95-592, Sec. 5, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2531; Pub. L. 98-284, 
Sec. 5, May 16, 1984, 98 Stat. 182; Pub. L. 99-198, title XIV, 
Sec. 1439, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1559; Pub. L. 102-237, title X, 
Sec. 1005(1), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1894.)


                               Amendments

    1991--Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 102-237 substituted ``industrial 
purposes,'' for ``industrial purposes,,''.
    1985--Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 99-198, Sec. 1439(a), extended 
research program to carrying out demonstration projects to promote the 
development or commercialization of native agricultural crops, including 
projects designed to expand domestic or foreign markets for such crops.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99-198, Sec. 1439(b), added subsec. (d).
    1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(1), added subsec. (a).
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(1), designated existing 
provisions as subsec. (b) and in first sentence of subsec. (b) as so 
designated inserted provision relating to development of other critical 
agricultural materials from native agricultural crops having strategic 
and industrial importance.
    Subsec. (b)(1), (2). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(2), redesignated cls. 
(a) and (b) as pars. (1) and (2) of subsec. (b).
    Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(2), (3), redesignated cl. (c) 
as par. (3) of subsec. (b) and substituted ``accelerating present plant 
breeding, genetics, and selection programs for the purpose of improving 
and increasing latex yields, expanding insect and disease resistance, 
broadening the ranges of drought and cold resistance of the Parthenium 
plant, and providing a system of regional research trials for enhancing 
and increasing the supply of foundation seed for certified seed 
production'' for ``carrying out breeding and selection programs for the 
purpose of improving latex yields, expanding insect and disease 
resistance, and broadening the ranges of drought and cold tolerance of 
the Parthenium plant''.
    Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(2), (4), redesignated cl. (d) 
as par. (4) of subsec. (b) and substituted ``establishing a system of 
large-scale experimental plantings (aggregating ten thousand acres or 
more) to provide shrub for feedstock to process in the developmental 
rubber processing facility described in paragraph (7)'' for 
``establishing a system of experimental plantings in arid and semiarid 
regions of the United States having suitable climatic and soil 
conditions for the culture of Parthenium''.
    Subsec. (b)(5), (6). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(2), redesignated cls. 
(e) and (f) as pars. (5) and (6), respectively, of subsec. (b).
    Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(2), (5), redesignated cl. (g) 
as par. (7) of subsec. (b) and substituted ``accelerating the refinement 
of present extraction and processing technologies and future extraction 
technologies, including the development and construction of a 
developmental rubber processing facility for the extraction and 
production of test quantities of guayule natural rubber;'' for ``further 
refining present extraction technologies and future extraction 
technologies, including technologies which utilize solar energy; and''.
    Subsec. (b)(8). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(2), redesignated cl. (h) as 
par. (8) of subsec. (b).
    Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(7), added par. (9).
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98-284, Sec. 5(8), added subsec. (c).
