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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2709 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2709

 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
 establish an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Tribal Relations, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 2023

 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 Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
 establish an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Tribal Relations, 
                        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 ``Strengthening the Office of Tribal 
Relations Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR TRIBAL RELATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 218 of the Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6918) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Tribal 
        Relations.'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``(1) or (3)'' and 
        inserting ``(1), (3), or (4)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Tribal Relations.--
            ``(1) Appointment.--In appointing an individual to the 
        position of Assistant Secretary for Tribal Relations, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to an individual who has a 
        background in Tribal relations or affairs.
            ``(2) Duties.--The Secretary may delegate to the Assistant 
        Secretary for Tribal Relations responsibility for--
                    ``(A) overseeing the Office of Tribal Relations of 
                the Department;
                    ``(B) planning, coordinating, and implementing 
                policies and programs of the Department serving Indian 
                Tribes and Tribal organizations;
                    ``(C) coordinating Tribal programs and activities 
                in all offices and agencies of the Department; and
                    ``(D) being a participant in any negotiated 
                rulemakings relating to, or having an impact on, 
                projects, programs, or funding associated with the 
                Tribal programs of the Department.''.
    (b) Compensation.--Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ``Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture (3)'' and 
inserting ``Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture (4)''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b) of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) The authority of the Secretary to establish within 
        the Department the position of Assistant Secretary of 
        Agriculture for Tribal Relations, and delegate duties to the 
        Assistant Secretary, under section 218.''.
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