Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 5.djvu/439

 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 104 STAT. 3761 (j) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—Any final decision made under subsection (c) may be vetoed by the Secretary, and the Secretary shall inform the Board of the reasons for such veto. SEC. 1660. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND 7 USC 5904. AGREEMENTS. (a) ELIGIBILITY. —Al l public and private educational institutions, other public and private research institutions and organizations, Federal agencies, and individuals shall be eligible to receive a grant from, or enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with, the Center for a research, development, or demonstration project, as provided in this section. (b) COMPETITIVE BASIS FOR AWARDS. —Grants made, and contracts and cooperative agreements entered into, under this section shall be selected on a competitive basis on the recommendation of a peer review system to be established by the Center. Such system shall contain peer review expertise in commercial production, product development, processing, and marketing of agricultural commodities as well as in scientific research. (c) SELECTION CRITERIA. —The Board may select a research, development, or demonstration project to receive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this section based on the likelihood that the project will result in creating or improving economically viable commercial nonfood, nonfeed products, applications, processes, or technologies that involve the use of raw or processed agricultural commodities. The criteria to be considered may include the following: (1) the prospect of developing technologies that could make it possible to use or modify existing agricultural commodities to provide an economically viable quantity of new nonfood, nonfeed products; (2) the potential market size of the new nonfood, nonfeed product, the likely time period needed to bring the product into the stream of commerce for general use, and the likely availability of the agricultural commodity used to produce the product; (3) the potential for job creation in an economically distressed rural area; (4) the anticipated State or local participation; (5) the anticipated financial participation of private entities; (6) the likely impact on reducing Federal crop subsidies and other Federgil agricultural assistance program costs; (7) the unavailability of adequate funding from other sources; (8) the likely positive impact on resource conservation and the environment; and (9) the likely positive effect of helping family-sized farmers and rural communities near the affected agricultural and forested areas. (d) SET-ASIDE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. — (1) IN GENERAL. —Not less than two-thirds of the funds obligated each fiscal year for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under this section shall be awarded only for research, development, and demonstration projects for which the applicant— (A) has committed substantial funding and support from its own resources; and

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