PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 11, 2025
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 exposure,
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 exposure compounds that occur naturally in wine grapes,
develop risk assessment tools or mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate smoke exposure, and
study compounds that can act as a barrier between wine grapes and smoke compounds.
People & committees
Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4] · D–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Jul 15, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-11 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Smoke Exposure Research Act of 2025 would require federal research on wildfire smoke exposure in grapes grown for wine and in wine. The research would identify smoke-related compounds, develop standard testing—including fast, inexpensive screening—and investigate ways to assess, reduce, or prevent exposure. Wine-grape growing and winemaking are the focus.
This Act may be cited as the Smoke Exposure Research Act of 2025.
2. Wildfire smoke exposure research on wine grapes
(A) conduct research— (i) to identify the compounds responsible for smoke exposure; and (ii) to establish standard methodologies for sampling and testing smoke-exposed wine grapes and smoke-affected wines, including fast and inexpensive screening methods;
(C) develop risk assessment tools or mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate smoke exposure; and (D) study compounds that can act as a barrier between wine grapes and smoke compounds.
The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Agricultural Research Service administrator, would have to research smoke-exposure compounds and establish standard sampling and testing methods for affected grapes and wines, including fast and inexpensive screening.
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 exposure; and (ii) to establish standard methodologies for sampling and testing smoke-exposed wine grapes and smoke-affected wines, including fast and inexpensive screening methods;
The research agency would have to establish a reliable database showing the naturally occurring background levels of smoke-exposure compounds in wine grapes.
(B) establish a reliable database of background levels of smoke exposure compounds that occur naturally in wine grapes;
The agency would have to develop tools for assessing risk or methods for reducing or eliminating smoke exposure. It would also have to study substances that could form a barrier between grapes and smoke compounds; the bill does not establish that such barriers would work.
(C) develop risk assessment tools or mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate smoke exposure; and (D) study compounds that can act as a barrier between wine grapes and smoke compounds.
The department would have to coordinate the research with qualifying land-grant colleges and universities in California, Oregon, and Washington that have already researched smoke exposure in grape growing and winemaking. Eligibility as a land-grant institution would follow the existing statutory definition cited in the bill.
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.
The bill would authorize Congress to provide $6.5 million for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030. This authorizes future appropriations rather than itself providing the money. Funds appropriated under this authority would remain available until spent, rather than expire at the end of a fiscal year.
(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.
The supplied July 15, 2026 source snapshot records introduction in the House and referral to the House Agriculture Committee on March 11, 2025, followed by referral to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology on April 4, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-07-15T08:07:19Z. 2025-04-04: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology. 2025-03-11: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. 2025-03-11: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-11. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what appears in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No earmark was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. A program authorization and a research-partner designation do not themselves establish directed spending awards. This conclusion is limited to this version; formal earmark status cannot be resolved without relevant accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The text contains a narrow designation of research partners within its main research policy. This classification does not imply improper treatment.
Land-grant colleges and universities in California, Oregon, and Washington with prior research on smoke exposure in grape growing and winemaking receive a specifically mandated coordination role. This geographically and institutionally limited role is a targeted benefit within the research program, although the provision does not guarantee those institutions funding or expressly prohibit additional partners.
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.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jul 15, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI