II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2733 

To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 

rename the Department of Agriculture. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 24, 2018 

Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. KAINE) 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 rename the Department of Agriculture. 

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 ‘‘Department of Agri5 culture and Rural Development Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Department of Agriculture is the pri9 mary Federal agency dedicated to improving the 


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1 economy and quality of life in rural areas of the 

2 United States; 

3 (2) the Department of Agriculture provides sig4 nificant financial resources and technical assistance 

5 to rural communities, including loans, loan guaran6 tees, and grants to help support economic develop7 ment in rural areas of the United States; 

8 (3) the United States has a substantial interest 

9 in ensuring that the nearly 45,000,000 individuals in 

10 the United States living in rural communities have 

11 access to critical infrastructure, broadband, tele12 communications connectivity, capital, health care, 

13 and other essential resources; and 

14 (4) renaming the Department of Agriculture 

15 the ‘‘Department of Agriculture and Rural Develop16 ment’’ would— 

17 (A) further establish the importance of 

18 rural development to the mission of the Depart19 ment; and 

20 (B) raise awareness in rural areas of the 

21 United States of the essential role the Depart22 ment has in supporting rural communities 

23 throughout the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DE2 VELOPMENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of the Department of 

4 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6901 

5 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 221. RENAMING AS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

7 AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT.—The Department of Agri10 culture shall be known and designated as the ‘De11 partment of Agriculture and Rural Development’. 

12 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The Secretary of Agri13 culture shall be known and designated as the ‘Sec14 retary of Agriculture and Rural Development’. 

15 ‘‘(b) REFERENCES.—Except as provided in sub16 section (c), any reference to the Department of Agri17 culture or the Secretary of Agriculture in any law, regula18 tion, map, document, record, or other paper of the United 

19 States shall be deemed to be a reference to the Depart20 ment of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Sec21 retary of Agriculture and Rural Development, respectively. 

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—The renaming 

23 of the Department of Agriculture and the Secretary of Ag24 riculture under this section shall not apply to any acro25 nyms used before the date of enactment of this section 

26 by the Secretary for the purposes of labeling.’’. 


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1 (b) AUTHORITY.—Section 296(b) of the Department 

2 of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

3 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(9) The authority of the Secretary to carry out 

5 section 221.’’. 

Æ 


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