I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6183 

To establish an Office of Colonias and Farmworker Initiatives within the 

Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2023 

Mr. CUELLAR (for himself, Ms. ESCOBAR, and Ms. CROCKETT) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of Colonias and Farmworker Initiatives within 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 ‘‘Office of Colonias and 

5 Farmworker Initiatives Establishment Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF COLONIAS AND 

7 FARMWORKER INITIATIVES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Crop In9 surance Reform and Department of Agriculture ReorgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Nov 16, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6183.IH H6183

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 6183 IH

1 nization Act of 1994 is amended by adding after section 

2 309 (7 U.S.C. 6921) the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 310. OFFICE OF COLONIAS AND FARMWORKER INI4 TIATIVES. 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish and maintain in the Department an Office of Colonias 

7 and Farmworker Initiatives (referred to in this subsection 

8 as the ‘Office’) to— 

9 ‘‘(1) improve engagement with, and service to, 

10 border colonias communities, farmworkers, and the 

11 family members and children of farmworkers; 

12 ‘‘(2) improve collaboration between the Depart13 ment and National, State, and local colonias and 

14 farmworker programs and nonprofit organizations; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(3) carry out other such functions as the Sec17 retary determines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Office shall ensure that border 

19 colonias communities, farmworkers, the family members 

20 and children of farmworkers, and nonprofit organizations 

21 representing or assisting such communities and individ22 uals have equitable access to, and equitable participation 

23 in, programs and services of the Department by— 

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

25 objectives of the Department to increase participaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Nov 16, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6183.IH H6183

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 6183 IH

1 tion of such communities, individuals, and nonprofit 

2 organizations in Department programs; 

3 ‘‘(2) assessing the effectiveness of Department 

4 outreach programs to such communities, individuals, 

5 and nonprofit organizations; 

6 ‘‘(3) developing and implementing a plan to co7 ordinate outreach activities and services to such 

8 communities, individuals, and nonprofit organiza9 tions provided by— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Department; and 

11 ‘‘(B) other Federal agencies, including 

12 services related to housing, education, health 

13 care, and infrastructure development; 

14 ‘‘(4) providing input to the Department and 

15 other Federal agencies on programmatic and policy 

16 decisions relating to such communities, individuals, 

17 and nonprofit organizations, including— 

18 ‘‘(A) identifying obstacles for access to 

19 programs and resources; and 

20 ‘‘(B) elevating Federal, State, and local 

21 best practices; 

22 ‘‘(5) measuring outcomes of the programs and 

23 activities of the Department to serve such commu24 nities and individuals; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 6183 IH

1 ‘‘(6) recommending new initiatives and pro2 grams to the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(7) providing technical assistance to such or4 ganizations with respect to Departmental programs 

5 and resources; and 

6 ‘‘(8) carrying out any other related duties that 

7 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(c) COLONIAS COORDINATOR.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab10 lish within the Office the position of Colonias Coor11 dinator (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Coor12 dinator’). 

13 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall delegate to 

14 the Coordinator responsibility for the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) Serving as a liaison to nonprofit or16 ganizations that represent and have dem17 onstrated experience serving and working in 

18 colonias communities. 

19 ‘‘(B) Coordinating with the Department, 

20 other Federal agencies, and State and local gov21 ernments to ensure that the needs of colonias 

22 communities are assessed and met, including 

23 during declared disasters and other emer24 gencies. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 6183 IH

1 ‘‘(C) Consulting within the Office and with 

2 other entities to better integrate perspectives, 

3 concerns, and interest of colonias communities 

4 into the ongoing programs of the Department. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 311. COLONIAS AND FARMWORKER INITIATIVES CO6 ORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—The Sec8 retary shall establish and convene a Federal coordinating 

9 committee, to be known as the Colonias and Farmworker 

10 Initiatives Coordinating Committee (referred to in this 

11 subsection as the ‘Committee’) to provide advice and guid12 ance to the Secretary on matters relating to colonias and 

13 farmworker affairs. 

14 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP AND COMPOSITION.—The Com15 mittee shall be composed— 

16 ‘‘(1) of such representatives not described in 

17 subparagraph (B) as the Secretary determines ap18 propriate; and 

19 ‘‘(2) of representatives from each of the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(A) The Department of Housing and 

22 Urban Development. 

23 ‘‘(B) The Department of the Treasury. 

24 ‘‘(C) The Environmental Protection Agen25 cy. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 6183 IH

1 ‘‘(D) The Department of Health and 

2 Human Services. 

3 ‘‘(E) The Department of Education. 

4 ‘‘(F) The Small Business Administration. 

5 ‘‘(G) The Department of Labor. 

6 ‘‘(H) The Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency. 

8 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF COMMITTEE.—The Committee 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) direct a working group composed of mem11 bers of the Committee (or designees of such mem12 bers) and representatives from other Federal agen13 cies and mission areas within the Department (such 

14 as the Rural Housing Service, Rural Utilities Serv15 ice, Rural Business Service, Food and Nutrition 

16 Service, and the Farm Service Agency); 

17 ‘‘(2) engage stakeholders and identify State and 

18 municipal best practices to assist colonias commu19 nities, farmworkers, and farmworkers’ family mem20 bers and children; 

21 ‘‘(3) submit to the Secretary recommendations 

22 or, and solutions to— 

23 ‘‘(A) the issues identified raised under sub24 paragraph (B); and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 6183 IH

1 ‘‘(B) issues raised at the local, regional, or 

2 national level; and 

3 ‘‘(4) identify and propose solutions to any inter4 departmental barrier between the Department and 

5 other Federal agencies. 

6 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT EXEMP7 TION.—Section 1013 of title V, United States Code, shall 

8 not apply to the Committee. 

9 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

11 $2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2029 

12 to carry out this section.’’. 

13 (b) TRANSFER OF POSITION OF FARMWORKER COOR14 DINATOR.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Farmworker Coordi16 nator position established under section 226B(f) of 

17 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 

18 of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6934(f)) is transferred to the Of19 fice of Colonias and Farmworker Initiatives under 

20 section 310 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform 

21 and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 

22 of 1994, as added by this Act. 

23 (2) TRANSFER OF LEGAL PROVISIONS.—Sub24 section (f) of section 226B of the Department of Ag25 riculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 6183 IH

1 6934) is transferred so as to read as subsection (d) 

2 of section 310 of the Federal Crop Insurance Re3 form and Department of Agriculture Reorganization 

4 Act of 1994, as added by this Act. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB