[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2839 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2839
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to
improve assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and
veteran farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2018
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Jones, Mr. Udall, and Mr.
Heinrich) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to
improve assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and
veteran farmers and ranchers, 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 ``Assist Socially Disadvantaged and
Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND
RANCHERS AND VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS.
Section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade
Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``agricultural'' and
inserting ``agricultural, forestry, and related'';
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (D)
as subparagraphs (E) through (G), respectively;
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) Maximum term and amount of grant, contract,
or agreement.--A grant, contract, or agreement entered
into under this paragraph shall be--
``(i) for a term that is not more than 3
years; and
``(ii) in an amount that is not more than
$200,000 for each year of the grant, contract,
or agreement.
``(C) Peer review.--The Secretary shall establish a
fair and efficient external peer review process that--
``(i) the Secretary shall use in making
grants and entering into contracts and other
agreements under subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) shall include a broad representation
of peers of the eligible entity.
``(D) Input from eligible entities.--The Secretary
shall seek input from eligible entities providing
technical assistance under this subsection not less
than once each year to ensure that the program is
responsive to the eligible entities providing that
technical assistance.''; and
(C) in subsection (G) (as so redesignated), by
adding at the end the following:
``(v) The number of farms or ranches
started, maintained, or improved as a result of
funds made available under the program.
``(vi) Actions taken by the Secretary in
partnership with eligible entities to enhance
participation in agricultural programs by
veteran farmers or ranchers and socially
disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.
``(vii) The effectiveness of the actions
described in clause (vi).''; and
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) in the subparagraph heading, by
striking ``2018'' and inserting ``2023'';
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(iii) in clause (iii), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2019 through 2023, to remain available until
expended.''; and
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``2018'' and
inserting ``2023''.
SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED
FARMERS AND RANCHERS AND VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS.
Section 2501A of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279-1) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and veteran
farmers and ranchers'' before the period at the end;
(2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and veteran farmers
and ranchers'' before ``in programs'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking the subsection designation and
heading and all that follows through ``the term'' the
first place it appears and inserting the following:
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher.--The
term''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Veteran farmer or rancher.--The term `veteran farmer
or rancher' has the meaning given the term in section
2501(e).''; and
(4) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``and veteran farmers or
ranchers'' after ``ranchers''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and
gender'' and inserting ``gender, and veteran
status'';
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as
paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) 5-year requirement.--Not later than March 31, 2020,
and every 5 years thereafter, for each county and State in the
United States, the Secretary shall--
``(A) compile data on--
``(i) the number of base acres of each
program crop owned by farmers or ranchers;
``(ii) payment yields for each program crop
made by farmers or ranchers;
``(iii) the number of fee waivers and
premium reductions provided to farmers or
ranchers under the noninsured crop disaster
assistance program established by section 196
of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and
Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333);
``(iv) the number of loans guaranteed by
the Secretary to farmers or ranchers;
``(v) the allocation of grazing permits by
the Forest Service to farmers or ranchers; and
``(vi) the race, ethnicity, gender, and
veteran status of each farmer or rancher under
clauses (i) through (v), subject to appropriate
privacy protections, as determined by the
Secretary; and
``(B) organize the data compiled under clauses (i)
through (v) of subparagraph (A) according to the
categories described in clause (vi) of that
subparagraph.'';
(D) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)--
(i) by striking ``and ethnicity'' and
inserting ``ethnicity, and veteran status'';
and
(ii) by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and
inserting ``paragraphs (1) and (2)'';
(E) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)
through (C) as clauses (i) through (iii),
respectively, and indenting appropriately;
(ii) by striking the paragraph designation
and heading and all that follows through
``Using'' and inserting the following:
``(4) Reports.--
``(A) In general.--Using'';
(iii) in subparagraph (A) (as so
redesignated), in the matter preceding clause
(i) (as so redesignated), by striking ``under
paragraph (1)'' and inserting the following:
``under--
``(i) paragraph (1); and
``(ii) in a separate report, under
paragraph (2).
``(B) Contents.--Each report submitted under
subparagraph (A) shall contain data''; and
(iv) in subparagraph (B) (as so
redesignated), in the matter preceding clause
(i) (as so redesignated), by striking ``that
paragraph'' and inserting ``paragraphs (1) and
(2), as applicable,''; and
(F) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), by
striking ``the report described in paragraph (3)'' and
inserting ``the reports described in paragraph (4)''.
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