Official Summaries

Smoke Exposure Research Act of 2025

This bill directs the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to conduct research relating to smoke exposure and wine grapes. This research must be done in coordination with land-grant colleges and universities that are located in California, Oregon, and Washington and have researched the effects of smoke exposure on viticulture and enology operations and practices.

Specifically, ARS must

• conduct research to identify the compounds responsible for smoke taint,
• conduct research to establish standard methodologies for sampling and testing smoke-exposed wine grapes and smoke-affected wines,
• establish a reliable database of background levels of smoke taint compounds that occur naturally in wine grapes,
• develop risk assessment tools or mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate smoke taint, and
• study compounds that can act as a barrier between wine grapes and smoke compounds.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1042 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1042

   To require the Agricultural Research Service to conduct research 
   relating to wildfire smoke exposure on wine grapes, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 2025

  Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Agricultural Research Service to conduct research 
   relating to wildfire smoke exposure on wine grapes, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Smoke Exposure Research Act''.

SEC. 2. WILDFIRE SMOKE EXPOSURE RESEARCH ON WINE GRAPES.

    (a) Research.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
        through the Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, 
        shall--
                    (A) conduct research--
                            (i) to identify the compounds responsible 
                        for smoke taint; and
                            (ii) to establish standard methodologies 
                        for sampling and testing smoke-exposed wine 
                        grapes and smoke-affected wines, including fast 
                        and inexpensive screening methods;
                    (B) establish a reliable database of background 
                levels of smoke taint compounds that occur naturally in 
                wine grapes;
                    (C) develop risk assessment tools or mitigation 
                methods to reduce or eliminate smoke taint; and
                    (D) study compounds that can act as a barrier 
                between wine grapes and smoke compounds.
            (2) Coordination.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
        through the Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, 
        shall carry out paragraph (1) in coordination with land-grant 
        colleges and universities (as defined in section 1404 of the 
        National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 
        Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) located in the States of 
        California, Oregon, and Washington that have conducted research 
        on the effects of smoke exposure on viticulture and enology 
        operations and practices.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $6,500,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030, to remain available until expended.
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