I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7920 

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 

of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program 

under which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and ranching 

opportunities for veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mr. VAN ORDEN (for himself, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. BACON, and 

Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of 

Agriculture to establish a program under which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible entities 

for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming 

and ranching opportunities for veterans. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agriculture Grants for 

3 Veterans Education and Training Services Act’’ or the 

4 ‘‘AG VETS Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDUCATION 

6 AND TRAINING SERVICES. 

7 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

8 Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 414. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDU11 CATION AND TRAINING SERVICES. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

13 program under which the Secretary will award competitive 

14 grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing 

15 and enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for 

16 veterans (as defined in section 101(2) of title 38, United 

17 States Code). 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity is eligible for 

19 a grant under this section if such entity is— 

20 ‘‘(1) a cooperative extension service; 

21 ‘‘(2) a land-grant college or university (as de22 fined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 

23 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

24 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 

25 ‘‘(3) a non-land-grant college of agriculture (as 

26 defined in such section); 


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1 ‘‘(4) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college and 

2 university (as defined in such section); 

3 ‘‘(5) a State department of agriculture; 

4 ‘‘(6) a nonprofit organization; 

5 ‘‘(7) a community-based organization; or 

6 ‘‘(8) a combination of 2 or more eligible entities 

7 described in paragraphs (1) through (7). 

8 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

9 a grant under this section shall use the funds received 

10 through the grant— 

11 ‘‘(1) to provide training and classroom edu12 cation that leads to a comprehensive understanding 

13 of farm and ranch business operations and manage14 ment practices; 

15 ‘‘(2) to develop or identify curriculum that vet16 eran farmers and ranchers can adopt to help man17 age their enterprise; 

18 ‘‘(3) to offer education, workshops, tours, and 

19 instructor-supervised field experiences; or 

20 ‘‘(4) to support any other activity, as identified 

21 by the Secretary, to increase the number of military 

22 veterans pursuing knowledge and skills development 

23 in agriculture. 

24 ‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

25 grant under this section shall provide non-Federal matchVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:08 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7920.IH H7920

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1 ing funds for the purposes of carrying out this section in 

2 an amount equal to not less than the amount of the grant. 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

Æ 


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