[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S4439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3165. Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Manchin, and Mr. 
Kaine) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 
bill H.R. 2, to provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural 
and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 
2023, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

       At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 124__. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the Department of Agriculture is the primary Federal 
     agency dedicated to improving the economy and quality of life 
     in rural areas of the United States;
       (2) the Department of Agriculture provides significant 
     financial resources and technical assistance to rural 
     communities, including loans, loan guarantees, and grants to 
     help support economic development in rural areas of the 
     United States;
       (3) the United States has a substantial interest in 
     ensuring that the nearly 45,000,000 individuals in the United 
     States living in rural communities have access to critical 
     infrastructure, broadband, telecommunications connectivity, 
     capital, health care, and other essential resources; and
       (4) renaming the Department of Agriculture the ``Department 
     of Agriculture and Rural Development'' would--
       (A) further establish the importance of rural development 
     to the mission of the Department; and
       (B) raise awareness in rural areas of the United States of 
     the essential role the Department has in supporting rural 
     communities throughout the United States.
       (b) Renaming.--Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture 
     Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) (as 
     amended by section 12403(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``SEC. 224. RENAMING AS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL 
                   DEVELOPMENT.

       ``(a) In General.--
       ``(1) Department.--The Department of Agriculture shall be 
     known and designated as the `Department of Agriculture and 
     Rural Development'.
       ``(2) Secretary.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall be 
     known and designated as the `Secretary of Agriculture and 
     Rural Development'.
       ``(b) References.--Except as provided in subsection (c), 
     any reference to the Department of Agriculture or the 
     Secretary of Agriculture in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, record, or other paper of the United States shall 
     be deemed to be a reference to the Department of Agriculture 
     and Rural Development and the Secretary of Agriculture and 
     Rural Development, respectively.
       ``(c) Limitation on Application.--The renaming of the 
     Department of Agriculture and the Secretary of Agriculture 
     under this section shall not apply to any acronyms used 
     before the date of enactment of this section by the Secretary 
     for the purposes of labeling.''.
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