Title: Assist Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2018
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Assist Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2018
This bill amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to reauthorize through FY2023 and modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program.
(The program provides funding to assist socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers in participating in USDA programs and in owning and operating farms and ranches.)
The bill includes provisions that:

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2839 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2839

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to 
improve assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and 
         veteran farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 15, 2018

 Mr. Van Hollen (for himself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Jones, Mr. Udall, and Mr. 
   Heinrich) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to 
improve assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and 
         veteran farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Assist Socially Disadvantaged and 
Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND 
              RANCHERS AND VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS.

    Section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``agricultural'' and 
        inserting ``agricultural, forestry, and related'';
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (D) 
                as subparagraphs (E) through (G), respectively;
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
                following:
                    ``(B) Maximum term and amount of grant, contract, 
                or agreement.--A grant, contract, or agreement entered 
                into under this paragraph shall be--
                            ``(i) for a term that is not more than 3 
                        years; and
                            ``(ii) in an amount that is not more than 
                        $200,000 for each year of the grant, contract, 
                        or agreement.
                    ``(C) Peer review.--The Secretary shall establish a 
                fair and efficient external peer review process that--
                            ``(i) the Secretary shall use in making 
                        grants and entering into contracts and other 
                        agreements under subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) shall include a broad representation 
                        of peers of the eligible entity.
                    ``(D) Input from eligible entities.--The Secretary 
                shall seek input from eligible entities providing 
                technical assistance under this subsection not less 
                than once each year to ensure that the program is 
                responsive to the eligible entities providing that 
                technical assistance.''; and
                    (C) in subsection (G) (as so redesignated), by 
                adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) The number of farms or ranches 
                        started, maintained, or improved as a result of 
                        funds made available under the program.
                            ``(vi) Actions taken by the Secretary in 
                        partnership with eligible entities to enhance 
                        participation in agricultural programs by 
                        veteran farmers or ranchers and socially 
                        disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.
                            ``(vii) The effectiveness of the actions 
                        described in clause (vi).''; and
            (3) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in the subparagraph heading, by 
                        striking ``2018'' and inserting ``2023'';
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end;
                            (iii) in clause (iii), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
                        2019 through 2023, to remain available until 
                        expended.''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``2018'' and 
                inserting ``2023''.

SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED 
              FARMERS AND RANCHERS AND VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS.

    Section 2501A of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279-1) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and veteran 
        farmers and ranchers'' before the period at the end;
            (2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and veteran farmers 
        and ranchers'' before ``in programs'';
            (3) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking the subsection designation and 
                heading and all that follows through ``the term'' the 
                first place it appears and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher.--The 
        term''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Veteran farmer or rancher.--The term `veteran farmer 
        or rancher' has the meaning given the term in section 
        2501(e).''; and
            (4) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by inserting ``and veteran farmers or 
                        ranchers'' after ``ranchers''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and 
                        gender'' and inserting ``gender, and veteran 
                        status'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as 
                paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively;
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) 5-year requirement.--Not later than March 31, 2020, 
        and every 5 years thereafter, for each county and State in the 
        United States, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) compile data on--
                            ``(i) the number of base acres of each 
                        program crop owned by farmers or ranchers;
                            ``(ii) payment yields for each program crop 
                        made by farmers or ranchers;
                            ``(iii) the number of fee waivers and 
                        premium reductions provided to farmers or 
                        ranchers under the noninsured crop disaster 
                        assistance program established by section 196 
                        of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
                        Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333);
                            ``(iv) the number of loans guaranteed by 
                        the Secretary to farmers or ranchers;
                            ``(v) the allocation of grazing permits by 
                        the Forest Service to farmers or ranchers; and
                            ``(vi) the race, ethnicity, gender, and 
                        veteran status of each farmer or rancher under 
                        clauses (i) through (v), subject to appropriate 
                        privacy protections, as determined by the 
                        Secretary; and
                    ``(B) organize the data compiled under clauses (i) 
                through (v) of subparagraph (A) according to the 
                categories described in clause (vi) of that 
                subparagraph.'';
                    (D) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)--
                            (i) by striking ``and ethnicity'' and 
                        inserting ``ethnicity, and veteran status''; 
                        and
                            (ii) by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and 
                        inserting ``paragraphs (1) and (2)'';
                    (E) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
                        through (C) as clauses (i) through (iii), 
                        respectively, and indenting appropriately;
                            (ii) by striking the paragraph designation 
                        and heading and all that follows through 
                        ``Using'' and inserting the following:
            ``(4) Reports.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Using'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (A) (as so 
                        redesignated), in the matter preceding clause 
                        (i) (as so redesignated), by striking ``under 
                        paragraph (1)'' and inserting the following: 
                        ``under--
                            ``(i) paragraph (1); and
                            ``(ii) in a separate report, under 
                        paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Contents.--Each report submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) shall contain data''; and
                            (iv) in subparagraph (B) (as so 
                        redesignated), in the matter preceding clause 
                        (i) (as so redesignated), by striking ``that 
                        paragraph'' and inserting ``paragraphs (1) and 
                        (2), as applicable,''; and
                    (F) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), by 
                striking ``the report described in paragraph (3)'' and 
                inserting ``the reports described in paragraph (4)''.
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