II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2703 

To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 

establish the Office of the Farm and Food System Workforce. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. WYDEN) 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 establish the Office of the Farm and 

Food System Workforce. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Our Farm 

5 and Food System Workforce Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE FARM AND FOOD SYSTEM WORK2 FORCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Agriculture 

4 Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by inserting after 

5 section 226B (7 U.S.C. 6934) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 226C. OFFICE OF THE FARM AND FOOD SYSTEM 

7 WORKFORCE. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Advi10 sory Committee’ means the Farm and Food System 

11 Worker Advisory Committee established under sub12 section (d)(1). 

13 ‘‘(2) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘Coordinator’ 

14 means the Farm and Food System Workforce Coor15 dinator. 

16 ‘‘(3) FARMWORKER COORDINATOR.—The term 

17 ‘Farmworker Coordinator’ means the position estab18 lished under section 226B(f). 

19 ‘‘(4) FARM AND FOOD SYSTEM WORKER.—The 

20 term ‘farm and food system worker’ means a worker 

21 employed, or a contract worker engaged— 

22 ‘‘(A) in the production, processing, pack23 aging, transporting, trade, or marketing of 

24 food, feed, or fiber through aquaculture, farm25 ing, wild fisheries, forestry, or pastoralism, as 


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1 described in section 4(4) of the Global Food Se2 curity Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9303(4)); 

3 ‘‘(B) in any service or activity described in 

4 section 3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

5 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)) or section 3121(g) of 

6 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

7 ‘‘(C) in the handling, planting, drying, 

8 packing, packaging, processing, freezing, or 

9 grading prior to the delivery for storage of any 

10 agricultural or horticultural commodity in its 

11 unmanufactured state. 

12 ‘‘(5) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL.—The term ‘Inter13 agency Council’ means the Farm and Food System 

14 Workforce Interagency Council established under 

15 subsection (e)(1). 

16 ‘‘(6) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of17 fice of the Farm and Food System Workforce estab18 lished under subsection (b)(1). 

19 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec22 retary shall establish within the executive operations 

23 of the Department an office, to be known as the ‘Of24 fice of the Farm and Food System Workforce’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to improve awareness of and access to 

2 programs of the Department for farm and food 

3 system workers; 

4 ‘‘(B) to improve the language used by the 

5 Department and ensure inclusive communica6 tion between the Department and farm and 

7 food system workers to regularly inform farm 

8 and food system workers of relevant policy and 

9 changes to policy; and 

10 ‘‘(C) to provide recommendations and tech11 nical assistance to other Federal departments 

12 and agencies with respect to the programs or 

13 communications of those departments and 

14 agencies relating to farm and food system work15 ers. 

16 ‘‘(2) FARM AND FOOD SYSTEM WORKFORCE CO17 ORDINATOR.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be 

19 headed by a Farm and Food System Workforce 

20 Coordinator. 

21 ‘‘(B) SELECTION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro23 vided in clause (ii), the Coordinator shall— 

24 ‘‘(I) be appointed by the Sec25 retary, in consultation with organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Aug 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2703.IS S2703

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1 tions that represent farm and food 

2 system workers, from among the com3 petitive service; and 

4 ‘‘(II) have relevant experience 

5 working with farm and food system 

6 workers. 

7 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL COORDINATOR.—The ini8 tial Coordinator shall be the Farmworker 

9 Coordinator. 

10 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.— The duties of the Coordi11 nator shall be— 

12 ‘‘(i) serving as a liaison to commu13 nity-based nonprofit organizations, institu14 tions of higher education, and local edu15 cational agencies that represent and have 

16 demonstrated experience serving farm17 workers or food system workers; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) consulting with the Advisory 

19 Committee to integrate farm and food sys20 tem worker perspectives, concerns, and in21 terests into the ongoing programs of the 

22 Department. 

23 ‘‘(D) STAFF.—The Secretary, acting 

24 through the Coordinator, shall employ such 


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1 staff as the Secretary determines necessary to 

2 carry out the functions of the Office. 

3 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Office shall be to 

4 ensure farm and food system workers have access to, and 

5 equitable participation in, programs and services of the 

6 Department by— 

7 ‘‘(1) establishing and monitoring the goals and 

8 objectives of the Department to increase participa9 tion in programs of the Department by farm and 

10 food system workers; 

11 ‘‘(2) assisting in administering the program es12 tablished under section 2281 of the Food, Agri13 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (42 

14 U.S.C. 5177a); 

15 ‘‘(3) coordinating with the Department, other 

16 Federal agencies, and State, local, and Tribal gov17 ernments to ensure that the needs of farm and food 

18 system workers are assessed and met during de19 clared disasters and other emergencies, as deter20 mined by the Secretary; 

21 ‘‘(4) assessing the effectiveness with respect to 

22 farm and food system workers of Department out23 reach programs; 

24 ‘‘(5) developing and implementing a plan to co25 ordinate outreach activities and services provided by 


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1 the Department with respect to farm and food sys2 tem workers; 

3 ‘‘(6) collaborating with and providing input to 

4 the agencies and offices of the Department on pro5 grammatic and policy decisions relating to and af6 fecting farm and food system workers; 

7 ‘‘(7) communicating to employers of farm and 

8 food system workers, and publicizing on the website 

9 of the Department, information about Federal pro10 grams for which the employees of those employers 

11 may be eligible; 

12 ‘‘(8) identifying, in consultation with organiza13 tions that represent farm and food system workers, 

14 research priorities to inform the research activities 

15 of the Department relating to, and beneficial to, 

16 farm and food system workers; 

17 ‘‘(9) measuring and analyzing outcomes of the 

18 programs and activities of the Department on farm 

19 and food system workers; 

20 ‘‘(10) assisting farmworkers in becoming agri21 cultural operators or landowners; 

22 ‘‘(11) recommending new initiatives and pro23 grams to the Secretary; and 

24 ‘‘(12) carrying out any other related duties that 

25 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(d) FARM AND FOOD SYSTEM WORKER ADVISORY

2 COMMITTEE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es4 tablish within the Office the Farm and Food System 

5 Worker Advisory Committee. 

6 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall 

7 provide advice to the Office on— 

8 ‘‘(A) integrating farm and food system 

9 worker perspectives, concerns, and interests 

10 into the ongoing programs of the Department; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) improving— 

13 ‘‘(i) farm and food system worker 

14 safety; 

15 ‘‘(ii) research programs relating to 

16 farm and food system workers; 

17 ‘‘(iii) agricultural education and tech18 nical skills opportunities for farm and food 

19 system workers; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) job training programs that assist 

21 farm and food system workers. 

22 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee 

23 shall be composed of not more than 20 members, 

24 who shall be appointed by the Secretary from among 


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1 individuals nominated by the public, and shall in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(A) not fewer than 5 farm and food sys4 tem workers; 

5 ‘‘(B) not fewer than 2 civil rights rep6 resentatives with a history of working on issues 

7 relating to farm and food system workers; 

8 ‘‘(C) not fewer than 4 representatives of 

9 nonprofit organizations with a history of work10 ing on issues faced by farmworkers or food sys11 tem workers, of whom 2 shall have focused ex12 pertise on issues faced by women farmworkers 

13 or food system workers; 

14 ‘‘(D) not fewer than 2 representatives of 

15 labor unions with a history of representing 

16 farmworkers or food system workers; 

17 ‘‘(E) not fewer than 2 representatives of 

18 institutions of higher education with dem19 onstrated experience working with farmworkers 

20 or food system workers; and 

21 ‘‘(F) such other individuals as the Sec22 retary considers to be appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—No member of the Advisory 

24 Committee shall be an officer or employee of the 

25 Federal Government. 


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1 ‘‘(5) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

3 Advisory Committee— 

4 ‘‘(i) subject to clause (ii) and subpara5 graph (B), shall be appointed to a 3-year 

6 term; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) may be reappointed to not more 

8 than 3 consecutive terms. 

9 ‘‘(B) INITIAL STAGGERING.—The first 6 

10 appointments by the Secretary under paragraph 

11 (3) shall be for a 2-year term. 

12 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Ad13 visory Committee shall be filled— 

14 ‘‘(i) in the same manner as the origi15 nal appointment was made; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) not more than 90 days after the 

17 date on which the position becomes vacant. 

18 ‘‘(6) MEETINGS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN-PERSON MEETINGS.—To the ex20 tent practicable, not less than twice each year, 

21 the Advisory Committee shall meet in person. 

22 ‘‘(B) OFFICE REPRESENTATIVE.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At least 1 rep24 resentative from the Office shall be present 


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1 at each meeting of the Advisory Com2 mittee. 

3 ‘‘(ii) NONVOTING CAPACITY.—Any in4 dividual described in clause (i) who is 

5 present at a meeting of the Advisory Com6 mittee shall be a nonvoting representative 

7 at the meeting. 

8 ‘‘(C) LANGUAGE ACCESS.—Each meeting 

9 of the Advisory Committee shall include simul10 taneous interpretation and translation of the 

11 meeting, and the provision of a copy of any 

12 agenda of the meeting in such languages as are 

13 requested by— 

14 ‘‘(i) any member of the Advisory 

15 Committee; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) any member of the public observ17 ing the meeting. 

18 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once 

19 each year, the Advisory Committee shall submit to 

20 the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture of the 

21 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

22 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, 

23 and make publicly available on the website of the 

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1 guages the Coordinator determines to be appro2 priate, a report that describes— 

3 ‘‘(A) the activities of the Advisory Com4 mittee during the previous year; and 

5 ‘‘(B) recommendations for legislative or 

6 administrative action for the following year. 

7 ‘‘(e) FARM AND FOOD SYSTEM WORKFORCE INTER8 AGENCY COUNCIL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es10 tablish within the Office the Farm and Food System 

11 Workforce Interagency Council. 

12 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Inter13 agency Council is to facilitate interagency, cabinet14 level leadership in planning, policymaking, coordina15 tion, and program development for services available 

16 to farm and food system workers. 

17 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Council 

18 shall comprise— 

19 ‘‘(A) 1 representative from each of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Department of Agriculture; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Health and 

22 Human Services; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the Department of Housing and 

24 Urban Development; 

25 ‘‘(iv) the Department of Labor; 


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1 ‘‘(v) the Department of Education; 

2 ‘‘(vi) the Environmental Protection 

3 Agency; 

4 ‘‘(vii) the Department of Homeland 

5 Security; 

6 ‘‘(viii) the Department of Justice; 

7 ‘‘(ix) the Department of the Treasury; 

8 ‘‘(x) the Department of Commerce; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(xi) the Department of State; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Coordinator or another represent12 ative of the Office. 

13 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN-PERSON MEETINGS.—To the ex15 tent practicable, not less than twice each year, 

16 the Interagency Council shall meet in person. 

17 ‘‘(B) OFFICE REPRESENTATIVE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At least 1 rep19 resentative from the Office shall be present 

20 at each meeting of the Interagency Coun21 cil. 

22 ‘‘(ii) NONVOTING CAPACITY.—Any in23 dividual described in clause (i) who is 

24 present at a meeting of the Interagency 


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1 Council shall be a nonvoting representative 

2 at the meeting. 

3 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once 

4 each year, the Interagency Council shall submit to 

5 the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri6 tion, and Forestry of the Senate, and the Committee 

7 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and 

8 make publicly available on the website of the De9 partment, in English, Spanish, and any other lan10 guages the Coordinator determines to be appro11 priate, a report that describes recommendations for 

12 legislative or administrative action to be taken dur13 ing the following year to increase accountability, co14 ordination, compliance, and culture changes at the 

15 Federal level to address inequities faced by farm and 

16 food system workers. 

17 ‘‘(f) LIAISON OFFICERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall appoint 

19 staff members to maintain liaison with the following 

20 agencies on matters relating to farm and food sys21 tem workers: 

22 ‘‘(A) The Farm Service Agency. 

23 ‘‘(B) The Natural Resources Conservation 

24 Service. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The rural development agencies of 

2 the Department of Agriculture. 

3 ‘‘(D) The National Institute of Food and 

4 Agriculture. 

5 ‘‘(E) The Food and Nutrition Service. 

6 ‘‘(F) The Agricultural Marketing Service. 

7 ‘‘(G) The Forest Service. 

8 ‘‘(H) The National Agricultural Statistics 

9 Service. 

10 ‘‘(I) Any other agency that the Coordi11 nator determines to be appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(2) PLANS.—The staff members described in 

13 paragraph (1) shall develop plans for review by the 

14 Coordinator, the Advisory Committee, and the Inter15 agency Council to increase information, awareness, 

16 access, data, and accountability for meeting the 

17 needs of farm and food system workers relative to 

18 the functions and beneficiaries of each of the agen19 cies described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once each 

22 year, the Coordinator shall submit to the Secretary, the 

23 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

24 Senate, and the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

25 of Representatives, and make publicly available, in 


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1 English, Spanish, and any other languages the Coordi2 nator determines to be appropriate, a report that de3 scribes, for the period covered by the report— 

4 ‘‘(1) the activities of the Office and progress 

5 made in carrying out the duties of the Office; 

6 ‘‘(2) the demographic information of farm and 

7 food system workers; 

8 ‘‘(3) the health, education, and economic out9 comes for farm and food system workers; 

10 ‘‘(4) the impacts that heat, natural disasters, 

11 drought, and pandemics have on the farm and food 

12 systems; 

13 ‘‘(5) the barriers that farm and food system 

14 workers face in accessing Department programs; 

15 ‘‘(6) recommendations that will improve the 

16 work and livelihoods of farm and food system work17 ers; and 

18 ‘‘(7) any other information determined relevant 

19 by the Secretary or the Coordinator. 

20 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec22 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

23 2023 through 2028.’’. 

24 (b) TERMINATION OF FARMWORKER COORDINATOR

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1 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6934(f)) is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF POSITION.—The position 

4 of Coordinator shall terminate on the date on which 

5 the Secretary certifies that the Office of the Farm 

6 and Food System Workforce is established under 

7 section 226C(b) is appropriately staffed with staff 

8 members dedicated to farmworker-specific issues.’’. 

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 296(b) of 

10 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

11 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to estab14 lish in the Department the Office of the Farm and 

15 Food System Workforce in accordance with section 

16 226C.’’. 

Æ 


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