The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Commerce are authorized to engage in technical and scientific research in American-grown cotton and its byproducts and their present and potential uses, including new and additional commercial and scientific uses for cotton and its byproducts, and to diffuse such information among the people of the United States; and the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Commerce or their duly authorized representatives may cooperate with any department or agency of the Government, any State, Territory, District, or possession or department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, or any person in carrying out the purposes of this section in the District of Columbia and elsewhere.