[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5301 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5301

 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
          reauthorize the position of Farmworker Coordinator.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 6, 2026

   Mr. Padilla (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
   Booker, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Lujan) 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 
          reauthorize the position of Farmworker Coordinator.

    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 ``Voice for Farm Workers Act''.

SEC. 2. FARMWORKER COORDINATOR.

    Section 226B(f) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 
of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6934(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                ``organizations'' and inserting ``organizations, 
                institutions of higher education, and local educational 
                agencies'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``institutions 
                on research, program improvements, or agricultural 
                education opportunities'' and inserting ``institutions 
                or community-based nonprofit organizations on research, 
                program improvements, agricultural education 
                opportunities, or technical skills and job training 
                programs''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) Assessing the effectiveness with respect to 
                farmworkers of Department outreach programs.
                    ``(H) Developing and implementing a plan to 
                coordinate outreach activities and services provided by 
                the Department with respect to farmworkers.
                    ``(I) Collaborating with and providing input on 
                programmatic and policy decisions relating to 
                farmworkers to the agencies and offices of the 
                Department, including--
                            ``(i) the Farm Service Agency;
                            ``(ii) the Natural Resources Conservation 
                        Service;
                            ``(iii) the rural development mission area;
                            ``(iv) the National Institute of Food and 
                        Agriculture;
                            ``(v) the Food and Nutrition Service;
                            ``(vi) the Agricultural Marketing Service;
                            ``(vii) the Forest Service;
                            ``(viii) the National Agricultural 
                        Statistics Service; and
                            ``(ix) any other agency or office that the 
                        Coordinator determines to be appropriate.
                    ``(J) Communicating to employers of farmworkers, 
                and publicizing on the website of the Department, 
                information about Federal programs for which the 
                employees of those employers may be eligible.
                    ``(K) Identifying research priorities and 
                evaluating programs to strengthen workforce stability, 
                agricultural productivity, and rural economic 
                resilience to inform the research activities of the 
                Department relating to farmworkers.
                    ``(L) Measuring and analyzing outcomes of the 
                programs and activities of the Department on 
                farmworkers.
                    ``(M) Recommending new initiatives and programs to 
                the Secretary.
                    ``(N) Carrying out any other related duties that 
                the Secretary determines to be appropriate.'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Staff.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Coordinator, shall employ such staff as the Secretary 
        determines necessary to carry out the duties described in 
        paragraph (2).''; and
            (4) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), in subparagraph 
        (B), by striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2031''.
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