Agriculture bill removes cost-sharing requirement for crop research grants
H.R. 3656 — To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to waive the matching funds requirement under the specialty crop research initiative, and for other purposes. · Filed by Kim Schrier (D-WA) · 14 cosponsors · Introduced May 29, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill allows the Secretary of Agriculture to waive the requirement that recipients of specialty crop research grants match federal funds with their own money. Currently, grant recipients must contribute matching funds; this bill gives the Secretary discretion to waive that requirement for grants awarded after the bill's enactment.
Why we flagged it
The bill functionally expands federal subsidy by removing a cost-sharing requirement, allowing the Secretary to fund specialty crop research entirely with taxpayer money rather than requiring recipient co-investment.
What the text implies
- Removes a mechanism that previously ensured research recipients had skin in the game; may reduce incentive for recipients to select high-impact projects or manage grants efficiently.
- Shifts entire matching-fund burden to federal taxpayers; the effective cost per grant to the government increases unless total grant volume is reduced.
- Secretary discretion to waive is unlimited by the text — no criteria stated for when waiver should or should not be granted, creating potential for inconsistent or politically influenced allocation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The waiver reduces barriers for specialty crop researchers and may accelerate research benefiting farmers and consumers, but it also shifts matching-fund burden entirely to taxpayers, reducing accountability for how federal research dollars are deployed and potentially favoring well-connected recipients over those willing to co-invest.
Who stands to gain
- specialty crop research institutions
- agricultural universities and research centers
- agricultural nonprofits conducting crop research
Named in the bill
Secretary of Agriculture, Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, Section 412(g)(3), specialty crop research initiative
Where it stands
14 cosponsors: 10 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
- May 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 29, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (511 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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