SA 3599. Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. SANDERS) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2419, to provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title XI, insert the following:
SEC. 11__X. OFFICE OF SMALL FARMS AND BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCHERS.
(a) In General.--Subtitle B of title II of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (as amended by section 11059(a)) is amended by inserting after section 226B the following:
``SEC. 226C. OFFICE OF SMALL FARMS AND BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCHERS.
``(a) Establishment.--Not less than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish and maintain within the executive operations of the Department an office, to be known as the `Office of Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers' (referred to in this section as the `Office').
``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Office are--
``(1) to ensure coordination across all agencies of the Department--
``(A) to improve use of the programs and services of the Department; and
``(B) to enhance the viability of small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and others, as the Secretary determines to be necessary;
``(2) to ensure small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers access to, and equitable participation in, commodity, credit, risk management and disaster protection, conservation, marketing, nutrition, value-added, rural development, and other programs and services of the Department;
``(3) to ensure that the number and economic contributions of small, limited-resource, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers are accurately reflected in the Census of Agriculture and in other reports; and
``(4) to assess and enhance the effectiveness of outreach and programs of the Department--
``(A) to reduce barriers to program participation;
``(B) to improve service provided through programs of the Department to small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; and
``(C) by suggesting to the Secretary new initiatives and programs to better serve the needs of small, socially disadvantaged, and beginning farmers and ranchers.
``(c) Director.--
``(1) IN GENERAL.--The Office shall be headed by a Director.
``(2) ASSUMPTION OF DUTIES.--Effective on the date of establishment of the Office under subsection (a), the Director shall assume the duties and personnel of the Director of Small Farms Coordination, as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of this section.
``(d) Duties.--The Office shall--
``(1) in collaboration with such other agencies and offices of the Department as the Secretary determines to be necessary, develop and implement a plan to coordinate the activities established under Departmental Regulation 9700-1 (August 3, 2006), including activities of the Small and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Council and services provided by the Department to small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers;
``(2) coordinate with the Office of Outreach to provide consultation, training, and liaison activities with eligible entities (as defined in section 2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 7 U.S.C. 2279(e));
``(3) cooperate with, and monitor, agencies and offices of the Department to ensure that the Department is meeting the needs of small farms and of beginning farmers and ranchers;
``(4) establish cross-cutting and strategic departmental goals and objectives for small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers and for each associated program;
``(5) provide input to agencies and offices of the Department on program and policy decisions to ensure that the interests of small farms and of beginning farmers and ranchers are represented;
``(6) measure outcomes of all small farm programs and beginning farmer and rancher programs and track progress made in achieving the goals of the programs;
``(7) supervise data collection by agencies and offices of the Department regarding characteristics of small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers to ensure that the goals and objectives, and measures carried out to achieve those goals and objectives, can be measured and evaluated; and
``(8) carry out any other related duties that the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(e) Outreach.--The Office shall establish and maintain an Internet website--
``(1) to share information with interested producers; and
``(2) to collect and respond to comments from small and beginning farmers and ranchers, including comments of the Small and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Council.
``(f) Resources.--Using funds made available to the Secretary in appropriations Acts, the Secretary shall provide to the Office such human and capital resources as are sufficient to allow the Office to carry out the duties of the Office under this section in a timely and efficient manner.
``(g) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate annual reports that describe actions taken by the Office during the preceding calendar year to advance the interests of small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6) (as added by section 7401(c)(1)), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (7) (as added by section 11059(b)), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) the authority of the Secretary to establish in the Department the Office of Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers in accordance with section 226C.''.


(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Nov 13, 2007.)