House Science Committee adopts NSF–USDA interagency research bill with blockchain amendment
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Summary
The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology voted to report HR 8613, the NSF and USDA Interagency Research Act, to the House after adopting an amendment from Rep. Bonamici to add distributed ledger technologies (blockchain) as a research focus; proponents said the measure will boost agricultural innovation and workforce development.
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology voted to report HR 8613, the NSF and USDA Interagency Research Act, to the House with a recommendation that the bill be approved after adopting an amendment to add distributed ledger technologies as an agricultural research focus.
Chairman Lucas framed the bill as a way to “ensure innovative solutions to support our domestic food supply” by improving collaboration between the National Science Foundation and the Department of Agriculture. Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren said she “enthusiastically support[s] this bill,” noting its importance to her district's Salinas Valley, which she said grows roughly 70% of the nation’s lettuce.
Representative Bonamici offered Amendment No. 103 to add distributed ledger technologies, often referred to as blockchain, as an emerging-technology focus area for USDA–NSF collaborative research. Bonamici argued the technology can “improve precision, validation, and data management in the agricultural and food sectors” by tracing products through the supply chain, verifying certifications such as organic or country-of-origin labels, and strengthening recall response. Bonamici also urged research into barriers to deployment including broadband access and integration with farm sensors.
The committee adopted the Bonamici amendment by voice vote. Chairman Lucas then moved that the committee report HR 8613 as amended to the House with the recommendation it be approved; the chair called the voice vote, and the ayes were agreed to. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.
Supporters said the bill also authorizes education and workforce development centered on agricultural literacy and would fund development and dissemination of high-quality K–12 curricula and workforce pathways linking community colleges, universities and industry. Opponents were not recorded in the transcript.
The committee ordered the bill reported favorably as amended. Staff were directed to prepare technical and conforming amendments after the markup, and members were given time to submit supplemental information for the record.