S. 4470

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4470 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4470

To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
improve the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, and 
for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 30, 2026

Mr. Fetterman (for himself, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Smith, Mr. 
Booker, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Heinrich, and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the 
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
improve the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, 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 ``Supporting Urban and Innovative 
Farming Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION.

Section 222 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 
1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
inserting ``production'' after ``emerging 
agricultural'';
(B) in subparagraph (D)--
(i) by inserting ``controlled-environment 
agriculture, including'' before ``hydroponic''; 
and
(ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 
subparagraph (H); and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
following:
``(E) using the resources of the Department and of 
State, Tribal, and local agencies to provide technical 
assistance for business incorporation, navigating local 
zoning, and managing farm tract numbers for smaller, 
noncontiguous parcels to growers implementing 
activities described in this paragraph;
``(F) using the resources of the Department and of 
State, Tribal, and local agencies to promote 
conservation techniques unique to urban agriculture and 
innovative production, including techniques that 
address stormwater runoff and the impacted nature of 
urban land and the subsurface of the land;
``(G) assisting urban and innovative producers in 
navigating Federal, State, Tribal, and local policies 
and regulations that impact business or operations; 
and'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ``2023'' and 
inserting ``2030''; and
(B) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ``the date 
that is 5 years after the date on which the members are 
appointed under paragraph (2)(B)'' and inserting 
``September 30, 2030'';
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Grants and Cooperative Agreements.--
``(1) Grants.--
``(A) In general.--The Director shall award 
competitive grants to support the development of urban 
and innovative agricultural production and technical or 
financial assistance to producers.
``(B) Subgrants.--An eligible entity may use funds 
from a grant under subparagraph (A) to provide 
subgrants to urban and innovative producers to support 
the growth of the farm or farm business of the urban 
and innovative producers.
``(C) Priority.--In awarding competitive grants 
under this paragraph, the Director shall prioritize 
projects that improve access to local foods in areas 
where access to fresh, healthy food is limited.
``(D) Eligible entities.--An entity eligible to 
receive a grant under subparagraph (A) is--
``(i) a nonprofit organization;
``(ii) a unit of local government;
``(iii) a Tribal organization;
``(iv) an agricultural cooperative or other 
agricultural business entity or a producer 
network or association; or
``(v) a school that serves any of grades 
kindergarten through grade 12.
``(2) Cooperative agreements.--
``(A) In general.--The Director may enter into 
cooperative agreements with eligible entities to 
support the development of urban and innovative 
agricultural production.
``(B) Eligible entities.--An entity eligible to 
enter into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph 
(A) is--
``(i) a nonprofit organization;
``(ii) a unit of local government;
``(iii) a Tribal organization; or
``(iv) an agricultural cooperative or a 
producer network or association.'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Pilot 
Projects'' and inserting ``Projects'';
(B) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Secretary shall establish 
a pilot program for not fewer than 5 years 
that'' and inserting ``The Secretary shall 
carry out a program that''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (C)--
(I) in the matter preceding clause 
(i), by striking ``2023'' and inserting 
``2030''; and
(II) in clause (i), by striking 
``pilot''; and
(C) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``pilot'';
(II) by striking ``local or 
municipal'' and inserting ``local, 
municipal, Tribal, State, or United 
States territory''; and
(III) by inserting ``or 
territories'' after ``States'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in the subparagraph heading, by 
striking ``pilot''; and
(II) in the matter preceding clause 
(i), by inserting ``Tribal governments, 
States, United States territories,'' 
after ``local governments,''; and
(iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
``pilot'' each place it appears; and
(5) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e) Funding.--
``(1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this 
section $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year 
thereafter.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.''.

SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE.

Section 2(b)(2)(E) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities 
Research Grants Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(2)(E)) is amended--
(1) in clause (iv), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and 
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(vi) hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, 
and other production technologies used in 
controlled-environment agriculture 
production.''.

SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION.

Section 7212(b) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public 
Law 115-334; 132 Stat. 4812) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A)--
(A) by striking ``Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the'' and inserting 
``The''; and
(B) by striking ``the census of agriculture 
conducted in the calendar year 2017'' and inserting 
``each census of agriculture''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$14,000,000 for the 
period of fiscal years 2019 through 2021'' and inserting 
``$18,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to 
remain available until expended''.
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