Members of both houses of Congress recently introduced
new legislation, the Charitable Agricultural Research Act (CARA). According to an article
by AgChallenge 2050, the legislation is a result of a close
working relationship among Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the
Senate.
On July 11, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) introduced the bipartisan,
bicameral legislation which is supported by a many co-sponsors representing a
range of geographic regions and different constituencies. The text of the Senate bill, S. 1280, is
available here. The text of the House bill, H.R. 2671 is
available here.
The CARA amends the U.S. Tax Code to allow for the
creation of new 501(c)(3) agricultural research organizations. Organizations which are “directly engaged in
the continuous active conduct of agricultural research” in “conjunction with a
land-grant college or university” or “a non-land grant college of agriculture”
would be eligible for 501(c)(3) status.
This model is similar to medical research
organizations, added to the tax code in the mid-1950s to enhance human medical
research. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) said:
“In the current tight budget environment Congress needs to enact innovation
legislation, such as this bill, which will encourage private donors to help
meet shortfalls in agricultural research.”
