7 U.S.C. § 2279–1 — Transparency and accountability for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers
submitted 24 years ago by Pub. L. 101-624 to r/title-7-AGRICULTURE · 483 words · no verdicts yet
The Secretary must compile and publish county- and State-level participation data to assess nondiscriminatory Department program participation by socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The section also sets privacy limits and requires receipts for requested services.
(a) Purpose. The section requires compiling and publicly disclosing data to assess and hold the Department of Agriculture accountable for nondiscriminatory participation by socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
(b) Definition. “Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher” has the meaning in section 2003(e) of this title; this section does not define the term.
(c) Data. (1) Every year, for every U.S. county and State, the Secretary of Agriculture (the “Secretary”) shall calculate for each Department program serving agricultural producers and landowners: (A) raw applicant and participant numbers by race, ethnicity, and gender, with privacy protections the Secretary decides are appropriate; and (B) application and participation rates by race, ethnicity, and gender, expressed as percentages of the total rate for all agricultural producers and landowners. (2) Department agency heads shall collect and send the Secretary any data, including race, gender, and ethnicity data, the Secretary decides is needed. (3) Using National Agricultural Statistics Service technologies and systems, the Secretary shall present the data for the whole United States, each State, and every county in each State, including raw numbers and rates. (4) The Secretary shall keep the report readily available to the public on a website and otherwise in electronic and paper form.
(d) Limits. (1) The Secretary may not disclose a participant’s name or individual data. (2) The data may be used only for the purpose in subsection (a). (3) Unless otherwise provided, it may not be used to evaluate individual assistance applications.
(e) Receipt. When a current or potential producer or landowner asks in person or writing for a Department benefit or service from the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or a Rural Development Mission Area agency, the Secretary shall give a receipt on the request date stating (1) the date, place, and subject of the request and (2) the action taken, not taken, or recommended.
The purpose of this section is to ensure compilation and public disclosure of data to assess and hold the Department of Agriculture accountable for the nondiscriminatory participation of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in programs of the Department.
In this section, the term “socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher” has the meaning given the term in section 2003(e) of this title.
For each county and State in the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall annually compile program application and participation rate data regarding socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers by computing for each program of the Department of Agriculture that serves agricultural producers and landowners—
raw numbers of applicants and participants by race, ethnicity, and gender, subject to appropriate privacy protections, as determined by the Secretary; and
the application and participation rate, by race, ethnicity, and gender, as a percentage of the total participation rate of all agricultural producers and landowners.
The heads of the agencies of the Department of Agriculture shall collect and transmit to the Secretary any data, including data on race, gender, and ethnicity, that the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out paragraph (1).
Using the technologies and systems of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Secretary shall compile and present the data compiled under paragraph (1) for each program described in that paragraph in a manner that includes the raw numbers and participation rates for—
the entire United States;
each State; and
each county in each State.
The Secretary shall maintain and make readily available to the public, via website and otherwise in electronic and paper form, the report described in paragraph (3).
In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall not disclose the names or individual data of any program participant.
The data under this section shall be used exclusively for the purposes described in subsection (a).
Except as otherwise provided, the data under this section shall not be used for the evaluation of individual applications for assistance.
In any case in which a current or prospective producer or landowner, in person or in writing, requests from the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or an agency of the Rural Development Mission Area any benefit or service offered by the Department to agricultural producers or landowners, the Secretary shall issue, on the date of the request, a receipt to the producer or landowner that contains—
the date, place, and subject of the request; and
the action taken, not taken, or recommended to the producer or landowner.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 101–624, title XXV, § 2501A, as added Pub. L. 107–171, title X, § 10708(a), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 522; amended Pub. L. 110–234, title XIV, §§ 14003, 14006, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1443, 1445; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XIV, §§ 14003, 14006, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2205, 2207; Pub. L. 113–79, title XII, § 12204, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 984.)
- 2002Enacted · Pub. L. 101-624 · 116 Stat. 522
- 2008Amended · Pub. L. 110-234 · 122 Stat. 1443, 1445
- 2008Amended · Pub. L. 110-246 · 122 Stat. 1664, 2205, 2207
- 2014Amended · Pub. L. 113-79 · 128 Stat. 984
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 101-624 on 2002-05-13.
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