[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3425 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3425
To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977 to authorize capacity building grants for community
college agriculture and natural resources programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2023
Mr. Kelly of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Thompson of
Mississippi, Mr. Ezell, Mr. Guest, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms.
Budzinski, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, and Mr. Harder of California) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977 to authorize capacity building grants for community
college agriculture and natural resources programs.
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 ``Community College Agriculture
Advancement Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE AGRICULTURE AND
NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAMS.
Subtitle K of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1473I. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAMS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a junior or community college supporting
agriculture advancement; and
``(B) a consortium or alliance of 2-year public
colleges supporting agriculture advancement.
``(2) Junior or community college.--The term `junior or
community college' has the meaning given the term in section
312 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058).
``(b) Competitive Grants.--The Secretary shall make competitive
grants to eligible entities to assist the eligible entities in
maintaining and expanding the capacity of the eligible entities to
conduct workforce training, education, research, and outreach
activities relating to--
``(1) agriculture; and
``(2) other similar disciplines.
``(c) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (b), the
Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity coordinating with a
local agriculture industry operator to provide experiential training
and other opportunities for students.
``(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under
subsection (b) may use the funds made available through the grant to
expand and maintain the capacity of the eligible entity--
``(1) to successfully compete for funds from Federal grants
and other sources to carry out educational, research, and
outreach activities that address priority concerns of national,
regional, State, and local interest;
``(2) to offer educational programming on agricultural
industry jobs, including farm business management-related
subjects, such as accounting, paralegal studies, and finance;
``(3) to disseminate information relating to the priority
concerns described in paragraph (1) to interested members of
the agriculture and other relevant communities and to the
public;
``(4) to encourage members of those communities to
participate in priority education, research, and outreach
activities through providing matching funding from sources
other than funds received through the grant; and
``(5) through--
``(A) the purchase or other acquisition of
equipment and other infrastructure (not including the
alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of
buildings);
``(B) the professional growth and development of
faculty; and
``(C) the development of apprenticeships and other
work-based learning opportunities.
``(e) Centers of Agriculture Advancement.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity may submit to the
Secretary an application for designation and funding as a
center of excellence for agriculture advancement.
``(2) Use of funds.--A center of excellence for agriculture
advancement designated under paragraph (1) shall use funding
received as a result of that designation--
``(A) to demonstrate best practices relating to
agriculture; and
``(B) to provide leadership in capacity building at
a regional or national level.
``(f) Evaluation and Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
``(1) conduct an evaluation of activities carried out under
this section; and
``(2) submit a report describing the evaluation conducted
under paragraph (1) to--
``(A) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives;
``(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate;
``(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives; and
``(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2029.''.
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