[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3062 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3062
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to
require the Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison to provide certain
outreach to veterans with respect to agricultural employment, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 13, 2018
Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to
require the Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison to provide certain
outreach to veterans with respect to agricultural employment, 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 ``Veteran Empowerment and Training to
Facilitate Agricultural Revitalization and Mobilization Act of 2018''
or the ``VET-2-FARM Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. MILITARY VETERANS AGRICULTURAL LIAISON.
Section 219 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of
1994 (7 U.S.C. 6919) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) provide information to veterans concerning the
availability of, and eligibility requirements for, positions
identified within the Department of Agriculture that are
available to employ or train veterans;
``(6) consult with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Labor, and the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration with respect
to carrying out activities that assist veterans with
agriculture-related employment; and
``(7) establish and periodically update the website
described in subsection (d).''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Website Required.--
``(1) In general.--The website required under subsection
(b)(7) shall include the following:
``(A) Positions identified within the Department of
Agriculture that are available to veterans for
apprenticeships.
``(B) Apprenticeships, programs of training on the
job, and programs of education that are approved for
purposes of chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code.
``(C) Employment skills training programs for
members of the Armed Forces carried out pursuant to
section 1143(e) of title 10, United States Code.
``(D) Information designed to assist businesses,
nonprofit entities, educational institutions, and
farmers interested in developing apprenticeships, on-
the-job training, educational, or entrepreneurial
programs for veterans in navigating the process of
having a program approved by a State approving agency
for purposes of chapter 36 of title 38, United States
Code, including--
``(i) contact information for relevant
offices in the Department of Defense,
Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of
Labor, and Small Business Administration;
``(ii) basic requirements for approval by
each State approving agency;
``(iii) recommendations with respect to
training and coursework to be used during
apprenticeships or on-the-job training that
will enable a veteran to be eligible for
agricultural programs; and
``(iv) examples of successful programs and
curriculums that have been approved for
purposes of chapter 36 of title 38, United
States Code (with consent of the organization
and without any personally identifiable
information).
``(2) Review of website.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the
date of enactment of this paragraph, and once every 5
years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a study
to determine if the website required under subsection
(b)(7) is effective in providing veterans the
information required under paragraph (1).
``(B) Ineffective website.--If the Secretary
determines that the website is not effective under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
``(i) notify the agriculture and veterans
committees described in subparagraph (C) of
that determination; and
``(ii) not earlier than 180 days after the
date on which the Secretary provides notice
under clause (i), terminate the website.
``(C) Agriculture and veterans committees.--The
agriculture and veterans committees referred to in
subparagraph (B)(i) are--
``(i) the Committee on Agriculture of the
House of Representatives;
``(ii) the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives; and
``(iv) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
of the Senate.
``(e) Consultation Required.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall consult with organizations that serve veterans.''.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON VETERANS EMPLOYED IN AGRICULTURE.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall
provide a report to the agriculture and veterans committees described
in subsection (b) that includes the following:
(1) Positions identified within the Department of
Agriculture that are, on the date of the report, available for
apprenticeships by service members or veterans.
(2) A summary of the information on those positions that
has been provided to the Department of Defense, the Department
of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Labor.
(3) A summary of measures taken to partner with the
Department of Defense to identify and develop potential career
skills programs for service members who transition out of the
armed services.
(4) The information the Department of Agriculture is
disseminating to agricultural entities to help those entities
contact the Department of Defense to establish career skills
programs.
(5) The information the Department of Agriculture has
provided to the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans
Affairs, Small Business Administration, and the Department of
Labor on available apprenticeships or on-the-job training
available to veterans.
(6) Information on how agricultural entities can contact
the Department of Agriculture for technical assistance in
establishing Department of Labor approved apprenticeships and
Department of Defense approved on-the-job training
opportunities.
(b) Agriculture and Veterans Committees.--The agriculture and
veterans committees referred to in subsection (a) are--
(1) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives;
(2) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
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