117th CONGRESS 2d Session |
To establish a pilot program on research and development of plant-based protein for the Navy, and for other purposes.
September 19, 2022
Ms. Slotkin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To establish a pilot program on research and development of plant-based protein for the Navy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Pilot program on research and development of plant-based protein for the Navy.
[(a) Establishment.—Not later than March 1, 2023, the Secretary of the Navy shall establish and carry out a pilot program to offer plant-based protein options at [forward operating bases][should this be “naval facilities” to match the rest of the bill text (assuming that naval facilities are a subset of forward operating bases under the control of the Navy)] for consumption by members of the Navy.]
(b) Locations.—Not later than March 1, 2023, the Secretary shall identify not fewer than two naval facilities to participate in the pilot program and shall prioritize facilities (such as Joint Region Marianas, Guam, Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia, and U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan) where livestock-based protein options may be costly to obtain or store.
(c) Authorities.—In establishing and carrying out the pilot program under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Navy may use the following authorities:
(1) The authority to carry out research and development projects under section 4001 of title 10, United States Code.
(2) The authority to enter into transactions other than contracts and grants under section 4021 of such title.
(3) The authority to enter into cooperative research and development agreements under section 4026 of such title.
(d) Rule of construction.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent offering livestock-based protein options alongside plant-based protein options at naval facilities identified under subsection (b).
(e) Termination.—The requirement to carry out the pilot program established under this section shall terminate three years after the date on which the Secretary establishes the pilot program required under this section.
(f) Report.—Not later than one year after the termination of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the pilot program that includes the following:
(1) The consumption rate of plant-based protein options by members of the Navy [under the pilot program][suggest “at forward operating bases/naval facilities participating in the pilot program”].
(2) Effective criteria to increase plant-based protein options at naval facilities not identified under subsection (b).
(3) An analysis of the costs of obtaining and storing plant-based protein options compared to the costs of obtaining and storing livestock-based protein options at [selected naval facilities][selected how? by whom? Is the intent that these facilities are different from those identified under subsection (b)?].
(g) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
(2) PLANT-BASED PROTEIN OPTIONS.—The term “plant-based protein options” means edible vegan or vegetarian meat alternative products made using plant and other non-livestock-based proteins.