H.R. 7949 — NSF Plant Biology Act

This section establishes a competitive, merit-reviewed grant program at the National Science Foundation for plant and microbial biology research with potential relevance to agriculture, food, or biotechnology (i.e., fundamental plant biology research and tools, resources, and technologies to enable it), available to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private sector entities, Federal, State, local, or Tribal governments, or consortia thereof. It authorizes appropriations of $150 million for each of FY2026 through FY2031. The section also defines “nonprofit organization” in the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from tax under section 501(a) (with redesignation of paragraphs (13) through (16) as paragraphs (14) through (17)).