[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4386 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4386

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 
 of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program 
 under which the Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible 
  entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and 
      ranching opportunities for veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2024

   Mr. Moran introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 
 of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program 
 under which the Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible 
  entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and 
      ranching opportunities for veterans, 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 ``Colonel Gary LaGrange AgVets Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICES.

    Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 414. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
              SERVICES.

    ``(a) Definition of Veteran.--In this section, the term `veteran' 
has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, United 
States Code.
    ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities 
described in subsection (c) for the purpose of establishing and 
enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for veterans.
    ``(c) Eligible Entities.--An entity is eligible for a grant under 
this section if the entity is--
            ``(1) a cooperative extension service (as defined in 
        section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, 
        and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103));
            ``(2) a land-grant college or university (as defined in 
        that section);
            ``(3) a non-land-grant college of agriculture (as defined 
        in that section);
            ``(4) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college or university 
        (as defined in that section);
            ``(5) a State department of agriculture;
            ``(6) a nonprofit organization;
            ``(7) a community-based organization; or
            ``(8) a combination of 2 or more eligible entities 
        described in paragraphs (1) through (7).
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use the funds received through the grant--
            ``(1) to provide training and classroom education that lead 
        to a comprehensive understanding of farm and ranch business 
        operations and management practices;
            ``(2) to develop or identify curricula that veteran farmers 
        and ranchers can adopt to help manage their enterprises;
            ``(3) to offer education, workshops, tours, and instructor-
        supervised field experiences; or
            ``(4) to support any other activity, as identified by the 
        Secretary, to increase the number of veterans pursuing 
        knowledge and skills development in agriculture.
    ``(e) Matching Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
under this section shall provide non-Federal matching funds for the 
purposes of carrying out this section in an amount equal to not less 
than the amount of the grant.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029.''.
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