[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 143 (Friday, July 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43389-43390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17554]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics
AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of re-establishment of the charter for the Advisory
Committee on Agriculture Statistics.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking renewal
of the 2-year charter for its discretionary committee, the Advisory
Committee on Agriculture Statistics. Effective October 1, 1996,
responsibility for the census of agriculture program was transferred to
the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) at USDA from the
Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. Effective February
2, 1997, NASS also received the transferred program positions and staff
from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Responsibility for the Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics,
which is a discretionary committee and was established by agency
authority, was transferred, along with its allocated slot, to USDA with
the census of agriculture program.
Authority: The Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics was
originally established by the Secretary of Commerce on July 16,
1962. The Committee is also established in accordance with the
provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended,
5 U.S.C. App.2.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hubert H. Hamer, Director, Statistics
Division, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, (202) 720-3896, or email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose: The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Secretary on
the conduct of the periodic censuses and surveys of agriculture, other
related surveys, and the types of agricultural information to obtain
from respondents. The committee also prepares recommendations regarding
the content of agriculture reports, and presents the views and needs
for data of major suppliers and users of agriculture statistics. The
committee draws on the experience and expertise of its members to form
a collective judgment concerning agriculture data collected and the
statistics issued by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS).
Description of Duties: The duties of the Committee are solely
advisory in nature. The Committee makes recommendations to the
Secretary of Agriculture with regard to the agricultural statistics
program of NASS, and such other matters as it may deem advisable, or
which the Secretary of Agriculture, Under Secretary for Research,
Education, and Economics, or the Administrator of NASS may request.
Agency or Official to Whom the Committee Reports: The Committee
reports to the Secretary of Agriculture through the Under Secretary for
Research, Education, and Economics.
Committee Membership: The Secretary of Agriculture will appoint the
membership of the Committee. Furthermore, members will serve for two-
year terms, and can serve no more than three consecutive terms.
Membership will consist of 20 individuals with diverse capabilities
distinguished by their broad range of knowledge and interest in, though
not limited to, agricultural economics, rural sociology, farm policy
analysis, and agricultural education. Members will also be drawn from
representatives of state and local governments; agriculture-related
industry and trade or marketing associations; major national farm
organizations; and producer organizations. A representative from the
Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, and a representative
from the Economic Research Service, USDA, shall serve as ex officio
members of the Committee.
This Committee will be fairly balanced in its membership in terms
of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed.
Steps will be taken to encourage fresh points of view, such as
establishing staggered membership terms and limiting the number of
renewed memberships.
Equal opportunity practices in accordance with USDA policies will
be followed in all appointments to the Committee. To ensure that the
recommendations of the Committee have taken into account the needs of
the diverse groups served by USDA, membership will include to the
extent possible, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent the
needs of all racial and ethnic groups, women and men, and persons with
disabilities.
The USDA prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and
activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age,
disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status,
parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs,
genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an
individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.
Ethics Statement: To maintain the highest levels of honesty,
integrity and ethical conduct, no Committee or subcommittee member
shall participate in any ``specific party matters'' (i.e., matters are
narrowly focused and typically involve specific transactions between
identified parties) such as a lease, license, permit, contract, claim,
grant, agreement, or related litigation with the Department in which
the member has a direct or indirect financial interest. This includes
the requirement for Committee or Subcommittee members to immediately
disclose to the DFO any specific party matter in which the member's
immediate family, relatives, business partners or employer would be
directly seeking to financially benefit from the Committee's
recommendations.
All members will receive ethics training to identify and avoid any
actions that would cause the public to question the integrity of the
Committee's advice and recommendations. Members who are appointed as
``Representatives'' are not subject to Federal ethics laws because such
appointment allows them to represent the point(s) of view of a
particular group, business sector or
[[Page 43390]]
segment of the public. Members appointed as ``Special Government
Employees'' (SGEs) are considered intermittent Federal employees and
are subject to Federal ethics laws. SGE's are appointed due to their
personal knowledge, academic scholarship, background or expertise. No
SGE may participate in any activity in which the member has a
prohibited financial interest. Appointees who are SGEs are required to
complete and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450
form) and, upon request, USDA will assist SGEs in preparing these
financial reports. To ensure the highest level of compliance with
applicable ethical standards USDA will provide ethics training to SGEs
on an annual basis. The provisions of these paragraphs are not meant to
exhaustively cover all Federal ethics laws and do not affect any other
statutory or regulatory obligations to which advisory committee members
are subject.
Recordkeeping: The records of this Committee, formally and
informally established subcommittees, or other subgroups of the
committee, shall be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule
26, Item 2 or other approved agency records disposition schedule. These
records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject
to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552. Information about this
Committee is available online at: http://www.nass.usda.gov/About_NASS/Advisory_Committee_on_Agriculture_Statistics/index.asp.
Signed at Washington, DC, July 21, 2014.
R. Renee Picanso,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-17554 Filed 7-24-14; 8:45 am]
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