I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5493 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Agriculture 

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. 

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 ‘‘Strengthening the Of5 fice of Tribal Relations Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR 

2 TRIBAL RELATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 218 of the Department of 

4 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6918) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for 

13 Tribal Relations.’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘(1) or (3)’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘(1), (3), or (4)’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR

18 TRIBAL RELATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—In appointing an indi20 vidual to the position of Assistant Secretary for 

21 Tribal Relations, the Secretary shall give priority to 

22 an individual who has a background in Tribal rela23 tions or affairs. 

24 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary may delegate to 

25 the Assistant Secretary for Tribal Relations respon26 sibility for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) overseeing the Office of Tribal Rela2 tions of the Department; 

3 ‘‘(B) planning, coordinating, and imple4 menting policies and programs of the Depart5 ment serving Indian Tribes and Tribal organi6 zations; 

7 ‘‘(C) coordinating Tribal programs and ac8 tivities in all offices and agencies of the Depart9 ment; and 

10 ‘‘(D) being a participant in any negotiated 

11 rulemakings relating to, or having an impact 

12 on, projects, programs, or funding associated 

13 with the Tribal programs of the Department.’’. 

14 (b) COMPENSATION.—Section 5315 of title 5, United 

15 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Assistant Secre16 taries of Agriculture (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secre17 taries of Agriculture (4)’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 296(b) of 

19 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

20 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to estab23 lish within the Department the position of Assistant 

24 Secretary of Agriculture for Tribal Relations, and 


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1 delegate duties to the Assistant Secretary, under 

2 section 218.’’. 

Æ 


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