12 2 STA T . 1 9 9 8PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 46—J U NE 18 , 2008 ‘ ‘ (i)toad d res s c o l o ny colla p se disorder and ot h er lon g- ter m threats to pollinator health , incl u ding the hiring o f additional personnel
and ‘‘(ii) to conduct research on colony collapse disorder and other pollinator issues at the facilities of the D epartment . ‘‘( B ) AUTHORIZA TIO N O F A P PROPRIATION S . —T here is authori z ed to b e appropriated to carry out this paragraph $7 , 250 ,000 for each of fiscal years 200 8 through 20 1 2. ‘‘( 3 ) H ON EYB EE PEST AN D PATHO G EN SUR V EI L LAN C E.—There is authorized to be appropriated to conduct a nation w ide honey bee pest and pathogen sur v eillance program $2,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. ‘‘( 4 ) ANNUAL REPORT ON RESPONSE TO HONEY BEE COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER.—The S ecretary shall submit to the C om- mittee on Agriculture of the House of R epresentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, N utrition, and F orestry of the Senate an annual report describing the progress made by the Department of Agriculture in— ‘‘(A) investigating the cause or causes of honey bee colony collapse; and ‘‘(B) finding appropriate strategies to reduce colony loss. ‘‘(i) REGIONAL CENTERS OF EX CELLENCE.— ‘‘(1) ESTABLISH M ENT.—The Secretary shall prioritize regional centers of e x cellence established for specific agricul- tural commodities for the receipt of funding under this section. ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—A regional center of excellence shall be composed of 1 or more colleges and universities (including land-grant institutions, schools of forestry, schools of veterinary medicine, or N LG CA I nstitutions (as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching P olicy Act of 1 9 77 (7 U .S.C. 3103))) that provide financial support to the regional center of excellence. ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR REGIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— The criteria for consideration to be a regional center of excel- lence shall include efforts— ‘‘(A) to ensure coordination and cost-effectiveness by reducing unnecessarily duplicative efforts regarding research, teaching, and extension; ‘‘(B) to leverage available resources by using public / private partnerships among agricultural industry groups, institutions of higher education, and the Federal Govern- ment; ‘‘(C) to implement teaching initiatives to increase awareness and effectively disseminate solutions to target audiences through extension activities; ‘‘(D) to increase the economic returns to rural commu- nities by identifying, attracting, and directing funds to high-priority agricultural issues; and ‘‘(E) to improve teaching capacity and infrastructure at colleges and universities (including land-grant institu- tions, schools of forestry, and schools of veterinary medi- cine). ’ ’; and (4) in subsection ( j ) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)), by stri k ing ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. Ap p ro pr iat io n a u t h ori z ation .
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