§ 427. — Agriculture research; declaration of policy; duties of Secretary of Agriculture; use of existing facilities.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC427]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 17--MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS
Sec. 427. Agriculture research; declaration of policy; duties of
Secretary of Agriculture; use of existing facilities
It is declared to be the policy of the Congress to promote the
efficient production and utilization of products of the soil as
essential to the health and welfare of our people and to promote a sound
and prosperous agriculture and rural life as indispensable to the
maintenance of maximum employment and national prosperity. It is also
the intent of Congress to assure agriculture a position in research
equal to that of industry which will aid in maintaining an equitable
balance between agriculture and other sections of our economy. For the
attainment of these objectives, the Secretary of Agriculture is
authorized and directed to conduct and to stimulate research into the
laws and principles underlying the basic problems of agriculture in its
broadest aspects, including but not limited to: Research relating to the
improvement of the quality of, and the development of new and improved
methods of the production, marketing, distribution, processing, and
utilization of plant and animal commodities at all stages from the
original producer through to the ultimate consumer; research into the
problems of human nutrition and the nutritive value of agricultural
commodities, with particular reference to their content of vitamins,
minerals, amino and fatty acids, and all other constituents that may be
found necessary for the health of the consumer and to the gains or
losses in nutritive value that may take place at any stage in their
production, distribution, processing, and preparation for use by the
consumer; research relating to the development of present, new, and
extended uses and markets for agricultural commodities and byproducts as
food or in commerce, manufacture, or trade, both at home and abroad,
with particular reference to those foods and fibers for which our
capacity to produce exceeds or may exceed existing economic demand;
research to encourage the discovery, introduction, and breeding of new
and useful agricultural crops, plants, and animals, both foreign and
native, particularly for those crops and plants which may be adapted to
utilization in chemical and manufacturing industries; research relating
to new and more profitable uses for our resources of agricultural
manpower, soils, plants, animals, and equipment than those to which they
are now, or may hereafter be, devoted; research relating to the
conservation, development, and use of land, forest, and water resources
for agricultural purposes; research relating to the design, development,
and the more efficient and satisfactory use of farm buildings, farm
homes, farm machinery, including the application of electricity and
other forms of power; research and development relating to uses of solar
energy with respect to farm buildings, farm homes, and farm machinery
(including equipment used to dry and cure crops and provide irrigation);
applied research to develop agricultural, forestry, and rural energy
conservation and biomass energy production and use; research relating to
the diversification of farm enterprises, both as to the type of
commodities produced, and as to the type of operations performed, on the
individual farm; research relating to any other laws and principles that
may contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a permanent and
effective agricultural industry including such investigations as have
for their purpose the development and improvement of the rural home and
rural life, and the maximum contribution by agriculture to the welfare
of the consumer and the maintenance of maximum employment and national
prosperity; and such other researches or experiments bearing on the
agricultural industry or on rural homes of the United States as may in
each case be deemd \1\ advisable, having due regard to the varying
conditions and needs of Puerto Rico, the respective States, and
Territories. In effectuating the purposes of this section, maximum use
shall be made of existing research facilities owned or controlled by the
Federal Government or by State agricultural experiment stations and of
the facilities of the Federal and State extension services. Research
authorized under this section shall be in addition to research provided
for under existing law (but both activities shall be coordinated so far
as practicable). For purposes of sections 427 to 427j of this title, the
term ``solar energy'' means energy derived from sources (other than
fossil fuels) and technologies included in the Federal Non-Nuclear \2\
Energy Research and Development Act of 1974, as amended [42 U.S.C. 5901
et seq.].
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``deemed''.
\2\ So in original. Probably should be ``Nonnuclear''.
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(June 29, 1935, ch. 338, title I, Sec. 1, 49 Stat. 436; Aug. 14, 1946,
ch. 966, title I, Sec. 101(1), 60 Stat. 1082; Pub. L. 95-113, title XIV,
Sec. 1446, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 1011; Pub. L. 96-294, title II,
Sec. 253, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 707.)
References in Text
Sections 427a to 427h and 427j of this title, referred to in text,
were repealed by act Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, Sec. 2, 69 Stat. 674. See
sections 361a to 361i of this title.
The Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974,
as amended, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 93-577, Dec. 31, 1974, 88
Stat. 1878, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 74
(Sec. 5901 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note
set out under section 5901 of Title 42 and Tables.
Codification
Another section 1446 of Pub. L. 95-113 is classified to section
3222a of this title.
Amendments
1980--Pub. L. 96-294 inserted provisions relating to applied
research to develop agricultural, forestry, and rural energy
conservation and biomass energy production and use.
1977--Pub. L. 95-113 inserted reference to research and development
relating to uses of solar energy with respect to farm buildings, farm
homes, and farm machinery (including equipment used to dry and cure
crops and provide irrigation) and inserted definition of ``solar
energy''.
1946--Act Aug. 14, 1946, amended section generally to provide for a
greatly augmented research program in order to enable agriculture to
attain a position in research comparable to that of other industries.
Effective Date of 1977 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 95-113 effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901
of Pub. L. 95-113, set out as a note under section 1307 of this title.
Short Title
Act June 29, 1935, as amended, which enacted sections 329, 343,
343d-1, and 427-427j of this title, is popularly known as the
``Agricultural Research Act'' and also as the ``Bankhead-Jones Act''.
Transfer of Functions
Functions of all officers, agencies, and employees of Department of
Agriculture transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of
Agriculture by 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 2, Sec. 1, eff. June 4, 1953, 18
F.R. 3219, 67 Stat. 633, set out as a note under section 2201 of this
title.
Minimum Sum for Contracting
Minimum of $1,500,000 of appropriations of Department of Agriculture
for research and service work authorized by this section and section
1621 et seq. of this title as available for contracting in accordance
therewith, see section 1623a of this title.
Ex. Ord. No. 9310. Transferring Nutrition Functions of Office of Defense
Health and Welfare Services to Department of Agriculture
Ex. Ord. No. 9310, Mar. 6, 1943, 8 F.R. 2913, provided:
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Title I of the First War
Powers Act, 1941 [former sections 601 to 605 of Appendix to Title 50,
War and National Defense], as President of the United States, and in
order to enable the Secretary of Agriculture more effectively to carry
out his responsibilities with respect to the Nation's food program, it
is hereby ordered:
1. The functions, powers, and duties, with respect to nutrition, (a)
of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services in the Office for
Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President (including
all functions, powers, and duties of the Nutrition Division of the
Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services), and (b) of the Director
of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services, are transferred to
the Department of Agriculture and shall be administered under the
supervision and direction of the Secretary of Agriculture through such
agency or agencies in the Department as the Secretary shall designate.
2. The personnel, property, and records used primarily in the
administration of the functions, powers, and duties transferred by this
Order are transferred to the Department of Agriculture. So much of the
unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds
available for the use of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare
Services in discharging the functions, powers, and duties transferred by
this Order, as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine,
shall be transferred to the Department of Agriculture for use in
connection with the exercise of the functions, powers, and duties so
transferred. In determining the amounts to be transferred hereunder,
allowance shall be made for the liquidation of obligations previously
incurred against such appropriations, allocations, or other funds.
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 361a, 427i, 1623a, 1629,
3152 of this title; title 42 section 8852.
