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The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant 

 Colleges Recommendation 



NASULGC has recommended that Congress fund a $100 million 

 annual competitive facility grants program. This would be a 

 coordinated Federal/State effort with an open, competitive 

 selection process. The program would consist of two principle 

 components. First, competitive facility grants (consisting of 80 

 percent of available funds) would be open to all eligible 

 cooperating institutions. The second component would allocate 

 competitive grants for smaller or emerging cooperating 

 institutions. This recommendation was part of a larger 

 recommendation aimed at halting the earmarking of agricultural 

 research funding.® 



The Agriculture Research Facilities Planning and Closure Study 

 Commission 



In 1990 the Congress passed legislation which established a 

 commission, modeled after the military base closing commission, 

 to deal with the problem of agricultural research facilities. 

 The Commission was created for the purpose of establishing a 

 coherent, comprehensive policy for America's agricultural 

 research infrastructure. 



The Commission was charged with reviewing all current and 

 planned agricultural research facilities and recommending whether 

 such facilities should be closed, realigned, consolidated or 

 modernized. The Commission was also told to evaluate USDA's 

 facilities acquisition and modernization system, and recommend 

 improvements in the system. 



The congressional appropriations committees have not funded 

 the Commission. In 1991, the UAB wrote a letter to Senator 

 Robert Byrd, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, 

 expressing its disappointment that this Commission had not been 

 funded and urged his support in FY 1993. 



nSDA SWAT Team 



Secretary Madigan testified last summer before the U.S. 

 Senate Agriculture Committee that a report on all facilities 

 would be presented to the Hill in November 1992 as part of the 

 USDA SWAT Team efforts to review field locations. So far no 

 report has been issued. The SWAT Team briefings for 

 congressional staff and the press have not included reviews of 



NASULGC, Agricultural Research Facilities, A Proposed 

 Plan for Needed Investment, Jan. 1991 and America's Agriculture 

 in the 21st Century, February 1989. 



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