110 HR 2427 IH: To require that an independent review of the efficiency U.S. House of Representatives 2007-05-22 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2427 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 22, 2007 Mr. Barrow introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To require that an independent review of the efficiency and effectiveness of all headquarters offices of USDA Rural Development and the Natural Resource Conservation Service be carried out before any county Rural Development office may be merged with a county office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service or any county office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service may be merged with a county Rural Development office.

1.

Independent review of headquarters offices of USDA Rural Development and the Natural Resource Conservation Service pending any county office mergers

(a)

Review required

The Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into a contract with an independent reviewing authority selected by the Secretary to carry out an independent review of the efficiency and effectiveness of operations at all headquarters offices of USDA Rural Development and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, including— (1)the headquarters offices in Washington, DC; and (2)all State offices. (b)

Review requirements

The review described in subsection (a) shall include a review for each office of— (1)management practices; (2)information technology purchases and deliverables; (3)software development; (4)contractor hiring practices and related cost-savings; and (5)such other factors as the independent reviewing authority considers to be relevant to the efficiency and effectiveness of operations at each office. (c)

Report

Not later than 30 days after the date of completion of the independent review, the independent reviewing authority shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that contains— (1)a description of the results of the study; and (2)recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of operations at each office. (d)

Prohibition on county office mergers implementation of report recommendations

The Secretary may not merge any county Rural Development office with a county office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service or any county office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service with a county Rural Development office before the later of the following dates: (1)The date on which the Secretary determines that each headquarters office referred to in subsection (a) has implemented the recommendations for that office contained in the report submitted under subsection (c). (2)October 1, 2008.