Ensuring Accountability for Equity at USDA Act

Bill: 118-s-2595
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Introduced: 2023-07-27
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Latest action: action_date: 2023-07-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-07-27
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Ensuring Accountability for Equity at USDA Act</strong></p><p>This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to improve the equitable availability and distribution of USDA services and program benefits through specific actions.&nbsp;</p><p>Under the bill, USDA must &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><ul><li>include within the performance evaluations for USDA senior leadership a review of an individual's direct efforts to improve equity in USDA programs and services;</li><li>issue uniform, department-wide guidance on collecting and responding to feedback and using that feedback to improve efforts to provide more equitable and consistent services; and</li><li>build frontline USDA customer service staff capacity to make eligible services or benefits available to customers.</li></ul><p>USDA must also notify Congress&nbsp;when it has identified an opportunity to improve equity in a particular program or service, but&nbsp;lacks the authority to make the necessary changes.</p><p>Further, the bill requires additional information to be included in USDA's annual data report (which is meant to assess and hold USDA accountable for the nondiscriminatory participation of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in USDA programs). The report must also describe trends in the data and include&nbsp;a discussion of efforts to implement necessary improvements to equity.</p><p>In addition, USDA must use collected data to examine and assess USDA programs and policies to identify and understand communities, organizations, groups, and individuals in need of USDA services or benefits.&nbsp;</p><!--tinycomments|2.1|data:application/json;base64,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-->

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2595 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 27, 2023 Ms. Smith (for herself, Mr. Luján , and Ms. Duckworth ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To provide standing authority and accountability for the Secretary of Agriculture and senior leadership of the Department of Agriculture to improve the equitable availability and distribution of services and program benefits to the people of the United States, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensuring Accountability for Equity at USDA Act . 2. Purposes The purposes of this Act and the amendments made by this Act are— (1) to implement recommendations from the Department of Agriculture Equity Commission; and (2) to emphasize and strengthen section 2501A of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 2279–1 ). 3. Transparency and accountability for socially disadvantaged 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 subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (3), in the paragraph heading, by striking Report and inserting Compilation and presenting of data ; and (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the report described in paragraph (3) and inserting the following: “a report that contains— (A) the compiled and presented data under paragraph (3); (B) a description of trends in that data over 5- and 10-year periods; and (C) a discussion of efforts to implement necessary improvements to equity identified through activities under subsection (f), including metrics to quantify, and timelines for implementation, of those improvements. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (f) Examination and assessment of programs In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the Secretary shall use data collected under this section to examine and assess programs and policies of the Department of Agriculture to identify and understand— (1) communities, organizations, groups, and individuals in need of services or benefits provided under Department programs; and (2) the extent to which participants benefitting from funding distributed under Department programs align with the communities, organizations, groups, and individuals described in paragraph (1) such that the funding effectively reduces disparities in access to Department programs. . 4. Ensuring accountability for equity (a) In general Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by inserting after section 216 ( 7 U.S.C. 6916 ) the following: 217. Ensuring accountability for equity (a) Performance evaluations A performance evaluation of an individual occupying a position of the head of an agency or a senior executive of the Department shall include an evaluation of appropriate direct efforts of the individual to improve equity in the programs and services under the jurisdiction of the agency head or senior executive. (b) Customer experience (1) In general The Secretary shall issue uniform, Department-wide guidance for each agency and office of the Department relating to— (A) collecting feedback from participants in Department programs; (B) responding to that feedback; and (C) using that feedback to improve efforts to provide more equitable and consistent services to all individuals that seek service from and engage with the Department. (2) Requirements The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall require— (A) opportunities for participants to provide feedback through multiple means, such as evaluations, surveys, or such other means as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; (B) opportunities described in subparagraph (A) to be advertised through means such as newspaper, radio, or such other means as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; (C) opportunities described in subparagraph (A) to be facilitated and advertised, and responses to feedback to be provided, in multiple languages, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and (D) specific opportunities for participants with direct involvement in a Department program to provide feedback, including by providing appropriate compensation to those participants for time and expertise. (c) Customer service (1) Training The Secretary shall ensure that employees of the Department receive cultural competency training, as appropriate for the roles of the employees. (2) Language contracts The Secretary shall consider, in entering into contracts or cooperative agreements for language translation or interpretation services, whether the needed services would best be provided by a community-based organization. (3) Staff knowledge of applicable programs (A) Definitions In this paragraph: (i) Customer The term customer means a recipient of, applicant for, or potential applicant for services or benefits under a Department program. (ii) Frontline customer service staff The term frontline customer service staff means an employee of the Department who directly interacts with customers. (B) Capacity building The Secretary shall build the capacity of frontline customer service staff to make available to customers the services or benefits for which the customers are eligible. (C) Activities In carrying out subparagraph (B), the Secretary may— (i) provide to frontline customer service staff of the Department— (I) training and mentoring relating to customer service skillsets; (II) training on technical tools at the disposal of the frontline customer service staff; and (III) training and shareable resources relating to— (aa) the Department programs for which a customer may be eligible; and (bb) the technical requirements and benefits of those programs; and (ii) establish a customer feedback opportunity after each interaction with the Department. (d) Notifications to Congress (1) Lack of authority If the Secretary identifies an opportunity to improve equity in a particular program or service but lacks authority to make the necessary changes, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a notification describing— (A) that opportunity and lack of authority; and (B) a recommendation for a legislative change. (2) Insufficient resources If the Secretary identifies the need for additional resources to improve equity in a particular program or service, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a notification that provides an explanation of the needed resources. (e) Administration The Secretary shall carry out this section using funding and staff from within existing budgets and appropriations for the Department. . (b) Conforming amendment Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 7014(b) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (11) The authority of the Secretary to carry out section 217. .