I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2349 

To provide for equal protection of the law and to prohibit discrimination 

and preferential treatment on the basis of race, color, national origin, 

or sex in the administration of programs of the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2021 

Mr. TIFFANY (for himself and Mr. OWENS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To provide for equal protection of the law and to prohibit 

discrimination and preferential treatment on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, or sex in the administration of programs of the Department of Agriculture, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Agriculture Civil 

5 Rights and Equality Act’’ or the ‘‘ACRE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, the Secretary of Agriculture (or any officer, 

4 employee, or other designee of the Secretary) (referred to 

5 in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall not— 

6 (1) intentionally discriminate against, or grant 

7 a preference to, any person or group based in whole 

8 or in part on race, color, national origin, or sex, in 

9 connection with any contract or subcontract entered 

10 into by the Secretary, award made by the Secretary, 

11 employment with the Department of Agriculture, or 

12 any other program or activity carried out by the 

13 Secretary; or 

14 (2) require, direct, or encourage any entity 

15 under a contract or subcontract withe Secretary, or 

16 the recipient of a license issued by the Secretary or 

17 financial assistance provided under a program ad18 ministered by the Secretary, to discriminate inten19 tionally against, or grant a preference to, any person 

20 or group based in whole or in part on race, color, 

21 national origin, or sex, in connection with such a 

22 contract, subcontract, license, or financial assistance. 

23 (b) STATES, TERRITORIES, AND PRIVATE ENTI24 TIES.—A State, territory, or private entity (including in25 stitutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 

26 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) 


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1 that receives financial assistance through a program ad2 ministered by the Secretary shall not, as a condition of 

3 receiving such funding, discriminate against, or grant a 

4 preference to, any person or group based in whole or in 

5 part on race, color, national origin, or sex— 

6 (1) in connection with any grant, activity, 

7 project, contract (or subcontract) carried out using 

8 such funds, including the salaries and expenses of 

9 any employees paid using such funds; or 

10 (2) with respect to determining admission to 

11 any such institution of higher education. 

12 (c) CERTAIN SEX-BASED CLASSIFICATIONS.—Noth13 ing in subsection (a) or (b) shall be construed as prohib14 iting or limiting any classification based on sex if— 

15 (1) the classification is applied with respect to 

16 employment; and 

17 (2) the classification would be exempt from the 

18 prohibitions of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

19 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.) by reason of section 

20 703(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2(e)(1)). 

21 (d) CIVIL ACTION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is aggrieved 

23 by conduct prohibited by subsection (a) or (b), may 

24 commence a civil action in the appropriate district 

25 court of the United States to obtain appropriate reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2349.IH H2349

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1 lief (which may include back pay), against Secretary 

2 or a State, territory, or private entity referred to in 

3 subsection (b). 

4 (2) DAMAGES.—A prevailing plaintiff in a civil 

5 action under paragraph (1) may recover reasonable 

6 attorney’s fees. 

7 (3) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—The remedies 

8 available to a plaintiff pursuant to a civil action 

9 under paragraph (1) shall not affect any remedy 

10 available to such a plaintiff under any other State 

11 or Federal law. 

Æ 


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