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ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY 



CONGRESSMAN STENHOLM FOLLOWING TESTIMONY TO 



THE HOUSE AGRICULTURE SUBCOMMITTEE FOR DEPARTMENT 



OPERATIONS AND NUTRITION-PRIORITIES FOR USDA RESEARCH, 



EXTENSION, AND INSTRUCTION. 



David G. Topel, Dean and Director 

 Iowa State Upiversity 



One of the criticisms of both special grants and competitive grants is that a 

 small number of institutions seem to garner large percentages of the 

 funding. How do we better ensure that a small number of select states do 

 not control the majority of the funding? 



Approximately 1 /3 of the land-grant universities dominate the dollars 

 obtained through the USDA Competitive Grants Program. One 

 alternative which would allow other scientists to obtain funds from the 

 Competitive Grants Program would be to establish two or three additional 

 divisions to the USDA Competitive Grants Programs. One division would 

 include the existing program. Sixty percent of the competitive grant funds 

 could be administered through the existing program. An additional 25% 

 could be used for young scientists who have tremendous talent and 

 ability, but have not had an opportunity to establish a research foundation 

 where they would be competitive with scientists with established research 

 programs. Another 15% of the allocation could be used for faculty 

 members who have never received a grant from the USDA Competitive 

 Grants Program. These funds would help develop research programs in 

 universities that are not as competitive with the top 1 /3 land-grant 

 vmiversities. 



Special grants have receive much attention during the last 4-5 years. 

 Anyone associated with the land-grant university system and the budget 

 process for the federal government understands the importance of special 

 grants to strengthen programs at the state level. Special grants have been 

 used effectively for many years and it doesn't take a rocket scientists to 

 project that special grants will continue to play a significant role in the 

 funding process for many years to come. A close review of the utilization 

 of special grant funds will reflect that the overwhelming majority of the 

 grants have been used very effectively to build quality programs at the 

 state level. A high proportion of the special grants result in programs that 

 impact national and international activities. A large proportion of special 

 grant requests are initiated by taxpayers at the grassroots level. The 

 special grants provide an avenue for taxpayers to reflect their priorities 

 through elected officials. Therefore, special programs can play a 

 significant role in strengthening research, outreach, and instruction 

 programs which have significant impacts on technology transfer resulting 

 in a more competitive position for agricultural products around the world. 



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