Reps. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) and Scott Franklin (FL-18) reintroduced their bipartisan Land Grant Research Prioritization Act, H.R. 7734, which would help give land grant universities dedicated access to existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant funding to enhance artificial intelligence (AI), mechanization and other research.
Support legislation to let land-grant institutions apply for USDA competitive grants to advance farm mechanization, agricultural artificial intelligence, invasive species research, and aquaculture research.
Occurrences
Evidence
GovInfo shows that on February 26, 2026, Scott Franklin introduced H.R. 7734 "for himself and Mr. Bishop" and referred it to the Committee on Agriculture; Bishop is listed as a cosponsor.
The House Agriculture Committee's farm bill page says the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 passed the House on April 30, 2026, and its marker-bill tally includes H.R. 4162, the Land Grant Research Prioritization Act of 2023, with Bishop listed among Democratic supporters.
Assessments
The promise was to support legislation allowing land-grant institutions to apply for USDA competitive grants in specified research areas, not necessarily to secure final enactment. In the same federal term, Bishop was listed as a cosponsor of H.R. 7734, the Land Grant Research Prioritization Act of 2026, and the related proposal was also reflected in the House-passed 2026 farm bill marker-bill tally. That satisfies the promised support in the relevant federal office context even though the policy had not yet become law.