# H.R. 1326 (119th): DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act

DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act This bill requires the Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture to carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities through the establishment of an interagency agreement. The agencies are authorized to (1) carry out reimbursable agreements in order to maximize research and development effectiveness, and (2) collaborate with other federal agencies. Further, the interagency agreement must require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process, which considers applications from federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit institutions. Research and development activities may include collaborative research in a variety of focus areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, biofuels and biobased products, grid modernization and security, rural technology development, and wildfire risks and prevention; developing methods to accommodate large voluntary standardized and integrated data sets on agricultural, environmental, supply chain, and economic information; supporting research infrastructure and workforce development; and collaborative research and development on ways to improve agriculture operations and processing efficiencies, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: agriculture. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: energy. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: research_governance. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: research_policy. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: rural_development. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 73: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill combines ordinary prudential goods (coordinated research, merit review, stewardship of agriculture and energy, rural development) with ordinary governance questions about interagency spending and program design. It does not directly advance or restrain a named moral harm, so it is best classed as mixed rather than good or evil.
Theological note: The bill concerns the coordination of federal scientific research and stewardship of energy, agriculture, and rural resources. Scripture supports diligent human work and wise stewardship of creation, and the bill's merit-review and competitive structure bears on honest, orderly use of public funds. These are prudential governance questions, not direct moral issues, and the summary does not show the measure advancing or restraining a named moral harm.

## Recorded votes

Roll 73: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass. Yea 372 · Nay 35 · Other 24.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-1326-119/