[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2599 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2599

 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
  provide assistance to manage farmer and rancher stress and for the 
  mental health of individuals in rural areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 15, 2019

  Mr. Tester (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
  provide assistance to manage farmer and rancher stress and for the 
  mental health of individuals in rural areas, 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 ``Seeding Rural Resilience Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.

    In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
Agriculture.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the suicide rate is 45 percent greater in rural 
        areas of the United States than the suicide rate in urban areas 
        of the United States;
            (2) farmers face social isolation, the potential for 
        financial losses, barriers to seeking mental health services, 
        and access to lethal means to commit suicide; and
            (3) as commodity prices fall and farmers face uncertainty, 
        reports of farmer suicides are increasing.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS FARM AND RANCH 
              MENTAL HEALTH.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, shall carry out a public service 
announcement campaign to address the mental health of farmers and 
ranchers.
    (b) Requirements.--The public service announcement campaign under 
subsection (a) shall include television, radio, print, outdoor, and 
digital public service announcements.
    (c) Contractor.--The Secretary may enter into a contract or other 
agreement with a third party to carry out the public service 
announcement campaign under subsection (a).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $3,000,000, to 
remain available until expended.

SEC. 5. EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAM TO MANAGE FARMER AND RANCHER STRESS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6912 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 224B. EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAM TO MANAGE FARMER AND RANCHER 
              STRESS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a voluntary 
program to train employees of the Farm Service Agency, the Risk 
Management Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in 
the management of stress experienced by farmers and ranchers, including 
the detection of stress and suicide prevention.
    ``(b) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which 
the Secretary submits a report on the results of the pilot program 
being carried out by the Secretary as of the date of enactment of this 
section to train employees of the Department in the management of 
stress experienced by farmers and ranchers, and based on the 
recommendations contained in that report, the Secretary shall develop a 
training program to carry out subsection (a).
    ``(c) Report.--Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate a report describing the implementation of this 
section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture 
        Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by redesignating section 
        225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) as section 224A.
            (2) 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 
        224B.''.

SEC. 6. TASK FORCE FOR ASSESSMENT OF CAUSES OF MENTAL STRESS AND BEST 
              PRACTICES FOR RESPONSE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall convene a task force of 
agricultural and rural stakeholders at the national, State, and local 
levels--
            (1) to assess the causes of mental stress in farmers and 
        ranchers; and
            (2) to identify best practices for responding to that 
        mental stress.
    (b) Submission of Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the task force convened under subsection (a) 
shall submit to the Secretary a report containing the assessment and 
best practices under paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, of 
subsection (a).
    (c) Collaboration.--In carrying out this section, the task force 
convened under subsection (a) shall collaborate with nongovernmental 
organizations and State and local agencies.
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