United States Department of Agriculture 

Marketing and Regulatory Programs 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

AMS Directive AMS 2210.2 11/03/2023 

Distribution: AMS Originating Office: AMS-Budget

INVESTMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. PURPOSE................................................................................................................................ 1 

2. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS .................................. 1 

3. AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCES ................................................................................... 1 

4. DEFINITIONS ........................................................................................................................ 2 

5. SCOPE..................................................................................................................................... 2 

6. POLICY................................................................................................................................... 2 

7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES....................................................................................... 3 

8. RECORDS MANAGEMENT................................................................................................. 4 

9. INQUIRIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION............................................................. 5 

1. PURPOSE 

This Directive states the policy and responsibilities for investments of public funds 

maintained by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). 

2. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS 

This Directive replaces AMS Directive 2210.2, dated 2/7/11. 

3. AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCES 

a. Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 202-226, “Money and 

Finance: Treasury.” 

b. Volume I, Treasury Financial Manual 6-9000, “Securing Government Deposits in 

Federal Entity Accounts.” 
 

 

 

 

 

4. DEFINITIONS 

a. Agency – Any Department, Agency, or instrumentality of the U.S. Government. 

b. Designated Depositary – A financial institution designated by the Department of 

the Treasury as a depositary and financial agent of the Federal Government which 

has been selected by an agency to hold public funds. 

c. Federal Reserve Districts and Banks – The Federal Reserve Bank or branch of the 

district within the geographic area in which the agency’s designated depositary is 

located. 

d. Government Deposits – Public money including, but not limited to, revenue and 

funds of the United States and deposit funds subject to the control or regulation of 

the United States or any of its offices, agents, or employees. 

e. Recognized Insurance Coverage – The insurance provided by the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, and 

the insurance organizations specifically approved by the Secretary of the Treasury 

under 31 CFR Part 226. 

5. SCOPE 

This Directive applies to AMS programs and employees. 

6. POLICY 

It is AMS policy to: 

a. Exercise prudent cash management of funds collected through fees for services, 

assessments collected from handlers and producers to finance research and 

promotion efforts, and assessments collected to administer marketing agreements 

and orders. This also applies to payments received by producer settlement funds 

and interest, or other charges collected on overdue accounts. 

b. Require that a formal agreement or Memorandum of Understanding be signed 

between parties before funds are deposited with a financial institution. This 

agreement is to state the responsibilities of both the custodial and the financial 

institutions and must conform to the policies and guidelines established by the 

U.S. Treasury with respect to the deposit of, and collateral for, public funds. 

c. Require complete safety of invested funds. In this regard, AMS adheres to the 

U.S. Department of the Treasury Regulations, 31 CFR Parts 202-226. 

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7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

a. In AMS, public funds are maintained by the Budget Division, the Research and 

Promotion Boards, Milk Market Administrators, and the Fruit and Vegetable 

Marketing Order Administrative Committees. They are the fund custodians for 

AMS. When investing funds held in public trust, fund custodians must follow 

these guidelines: 

(1) Investments. Investments must be short-term (or long-term with 

permission), in risk-free, interesting-bearing instruments. 

(a) Short-Term. Investments must have a maturity period of 1 year or 

less to ensure availability and rapid conversion of the principal to 

cash. 

(b) Long-Term. Investment with terms longer than one year is 

considered long-term. Such investments must be granted 

permission by the AMS Budget Officer. These investments must 

maintain liquidity to meet forecasted cash needs. 

(c) Risk-Free. All investments must be federally insured or fully 

collateralized with Federal Government securities. 

(2) Insurance Coverage. All investments must be fully secured. Accounts are 

to be established at financial institutions having FDIC insurance which 

protects the funds that depositors place in banks and savings associations. 

Accounts at individual institutions should not exceed, in the aggregate, 

FDIC insured thresholds in order to ensure full insurance for both account 

principal and interest. 

(3) Collateralization. All investments exceeding FDIC insured thresholds, 

within said institutions, must be fully collateralized. 

(a) Before sending funds to an institution for investment, eligible 

collateral must be pledged to an account under the control of the 

investing custodian. 

(b) Only those securities specified in U. S. Department of the Treasury 

Regulations, 31 CFR Part 202, are acceptable collateral. They 

include securities issued, fully insured, or guaranteed by U.S. 

Government Agencies, or U.S. Government sponsored 

corporations. Regulations that govern the types of acceptable 

collateral that may be pledged to secure deposits of public monies, 

as well as the validation of that collateral, are addressed in 31 CFR 

Part 380. For a current list of acceptable classes of securities and 

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instruments described within this Code and their valuations, see the 

Bureau of Public Debt’s web site. 

(c) Collateral must be pledged at face value. Financial institutions 

must provide the investor with periodic inventories of pledged 

collateral, showing both face and market value. 

(d) Pledged collateral must be separately segregated in the name of the 

investor (i.e., AMS Budget Division, Board, Milk Market 

Administrator, or Administrative Committee), in order to prevent 

double pledging. 

. 

(e) Collateral not held by the Federal Reserve Board must be held by a 

financial institution authorized by Treasury as a Federal 

Depositary, having FDIC insurance, and approved by the Federal 

Reserve Board. 

b. When AMS is investing in commercial instruments at financial institutions, 

employees authorized to conduct business with such financial institutions must 

complete an AMS Investment Program Disclosure Statement Form on an annual 

basis. This form indicates any personal relationship with those financial 

institutions with which AMS invests. Annual disclosures are unnecessary if the 

agency does not purchase certificates of deposit from commercial banks. 

c. For the purpose of approving daily investment decisions, the Formulation and 

Execution Branch Chief and the AMS Budget Officer share this responsibility 

respectively. In their absence, acting staff (GS-13 and above) assume these 

responsibilities provided they have signed disclosure statements and have 

confidential disclosure reports on file. 

8. RECORDS MANAGEMENT 

Federal records created by this Directive must be maintained in accordance with the 

established General Records Schedule (GRS) and/or the AMS/APHIS Records 

Management Handbook when applicable. If employees are named in an active litigation 

hold, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and/or other action, those records, 

regardless of media, must be preserved and maintained in their native format until 

otherwise notified by your Agency Records Officer and/or the Office of General Counsel. 

a. MRP Information Technology, Information Management Branch (MRP-IT, IMB) 

is the official recordkeeper of this Directive, which is to be preserved 

permanently, per Paperwork and Data Management (PDM) 4-1. 

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b. The Resource Management Specialists for FMD are the official recordkeepers of 

the records listed below, which will be maintained in accordance with the APHIS 

Records Handbook and with: 

(1) GRS 1.1 – Item 001: Official record of assignment and subject files; 

destroy when 3 years old, but longer retention is authorized if required for 

business use. 

(2) GRS 1.2 – Item 010: Financial transaction records related to collecting 

debts and accounting; official record held in the office of record; destroy 6 

years after final payment or cancellation, but longer retention is authorized 

if required for business use. 

(3) GRS 1.2 – Item 011: Copies used for administrative or reference purposes; 

destroy when business use ceases. 

9. INQUIRIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

a. General inquiries concerning this Directive may be directed to the AMS Budget 

Office. 

b. This directive can be accessed online via the AMS web page. 

/s/ 

Erin Morris 

Associate Administrator 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

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