Congress funds $5B agricultural research facility repairs over five years
S. 1825 — AG RESEARCH Act · Filed by Mazie Hirono (D-HI) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 21, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a $5 billion federal grant program (2025–2029) to help agricultural research facilities at universities repair and modernize buildings and equipment. The Secretary of Agriculture can award grants covering up to 100% of costs on a case-by-case basis, with rules requiring geographic diversity, support for minority-serving institutions, and limits on concentration in any single state. The bill also amends the Research Facilities Act to require peer-review consultation when evaluating proposals.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a direct federal appropriation to repair and modernize agricultural research facilities at universities. It is a straightforward infrastructure-funding bill with no hidden riders or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- The 'Secretarial waiver' allowing 100% federal cost-sharing on a case-by-case basis removes the normal cost-sharing requirement and concentrates discretion in the Secretary, potentially enabling favoritism if peer-review safeguards are weak.
- The bill does not specify which institutions qualify as 'agricultural research facilities'—this definition will be set by regulation, creating implementation risk and potential for scope creep or narrow interpretation.
- Mandatory funding from the Treasury (not subject to annual appropriations) locks in $5B over five years, which may crowd out other agricultural priorities or require offsetting cuts elsewhere.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill funds critical infrastructure repair at agricultural research institutions, which supports food security, agricultural innovation, and rural economic development. The mandatory funding mechanism and peer-review requirements provide transparency and competitive allocation, reducing risk of waste or favoritism.
Who stands to gain
- Land-grant universities and agricultural research institutions
- Construction and engineering contractors hired for facility repairs
- Equipment manufacturers supplying research facilities
Named in the bill
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Secretary of the Treasury, Land-grant universities, Agricultural research facilities, Research Facilities Act
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- May 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- May 21, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry”
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 (5,185 characters) on Sep 27, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 15,316 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 2026-09-27.
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