[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4425 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4425

 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
 establish the position of Women Farmers and Ranchers Liaison, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2023

   Ms. Leger Fernandez (for herself, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, Mrs. 
 Gonzalez-Colon, and Ms. Pingree) 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 the position of Women Farmers and Ranchers Liaison, 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 ``Women in Agriculture Act''.

SEC. 2. WOMEN FARMERS AND RANCHERS LIAISON.

    (a) In General.--The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 
of 1994 is amended by inserting after section 222 (7 U.S.C. 6923) the 
following:

``SEC. 223. WOMEN FARMERS AND RANCHERS LIAISON.

    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Women in Agriculture Act, the Secretary shall 
establish in the Department the position of Women Farmers and Ranchers 
Liaison (in this section referred to as the `Liaison').
    ``(b) Duties.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Liaison shall carry out the 
        following duties:
                    ``(A) With respect to agricultural programs 
                available to women who are farmers and ranchers--
                            ``(i) provide information to such women 
                        about the availability of such programs and the 
                        eligibility requirements for such programs; and
                            ``(ii) assist such women, and women who are 
                        potential farmers or ranchers, in applying for 
                        such programs.
                    ``(B) Advocate on behalf of women who are farmers 
                and ranchers in interactions with employees of the 
                Department.
                    ``(C) Promote the advancement of women in 
                leadership roles within the Department.
                    ``(D) Submit and make publicly available the report 
                required under paragraph (2)(A).
                    ``(E) Consult and provide technical assistance to 
                the Equity Commission of the Department.
                    ``(F) Consult with and provide technical assistance 
                to any Federal agency that requests such assistance 
                with respect to the duties described in subparagraphs 
                (A) through (E).
            ``(2) Report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of the enactment of the Women in Agriculture Act, 
                and annually thereafter, the Liaison shall submit to 
                Congress and make publicly available a report on the 
                grants, loans, loan guarantees, and cost share programs 
                made by the Secretary to woman-owned agriculture 
                operations.
                    ``(B) Contents.--Each report required under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to the 
                fiscal year preceding such report--
                            ``(i) the total number of grants, loans, 
                        loan guarantees, and cost share programs made 
                        by each of the Farm Service Agency and the 
                        Natural Resources Conservation Service to 
                        agriculture operations;
                            ``(ii) the percentage of such grants, 
                        loans, loan guarantees, and cost share programs 
                        made to woman-owned agriculture operations;
                            ``(iii) the percentage of total funding 
                        directed to woman-owned agriculture operations, 
                        disaggregated by program;
                            ``(iv) the percentage of applications made 
                        by women-owned agricultural operations; and
                            ``(v) the percentage of women at different 
                        GS levels at the Department, disaggregated by 
                        office.
            ``(3) Contract or cooperative agreement.--The Liaison may 
        enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with a research 
        center of the Agricultural Research Service, an institution of 
        higher education (as such term is defined in section 101 of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or a nonprofit 
        organization to carry out 1 or more of the following activities 
        with respect to women who are farmers and ranchers:
                    ``(A) Conducting research on the profitability of 
                small farms run by such women.
                    ``(B) Developing educational materials for such 
                women.
                    ``(C) Conducting workshops, courses, and certified 
                vocational training for such women.
                    ``(D) Conducting mentoring activities for such 
                women.
                    ``(E) Providing internship opportunities for such 
                women.
    ``(c) Staff Support.--The Secretary may appoint staff of the 
Department of Agriculture to support the Liaison.''.
    (b) Termination of Authority.--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 the 
        amendment made to this title by the Women in Agriculture 
        Act.''.

SEC. 3. HIGH-PRIORITY RESEARCH AND EXTENSION AREAS.

    Section 1672(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(d)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(21) Ergonomically designed agriculture equipment and 
        machinery.--Research and extension grants may be made under 
        this section for the purposes of developing and making widely 
        available agriculture equipment and machinery that is 
        ergonomically designed for use by women.''.

SEC. 4. CHILD CARE PRIORITY.

    Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 
(7 U.S.C. 1926(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(27) Child Care Priority.--In selecting recipients of loans and 
grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to any 
qualified applicant that proposes to use the loan or grant to address 
the availability, quality, or cost of childcare in an agricultural or 
rural community.''.
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