119-hr1230

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1230 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1230

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 
 of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program 
 under which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible 
 entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and 
 ranching opportunities for veterans.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 12, 2025

Mr. Van Orden (for himself and Mr. Davis of North Carolina) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to 
 be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
 committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 
 of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program 
 under which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible 
 entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and 
 ranching opportunities for veterans.

 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 ``Agriculture Grants for Veterans 
Education and Training Services Act'' or the ``AG VETS Act''.

SEC. 2. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICES.

 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``

SEC. 414. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
 SERVICES.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible entities 
for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and ranching 
opportunities for veterans (as defined in 

section 101

    (2) of title 38, 
United States Code).
 ``

    (b) Eligible Entities.--An entity is eligible for a grant under 
this section if such entity is--
 ``

    (1) a cooperative extension service;
 ``

    (2) a land-grant college or university (as defined in 
 

section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, 
 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103));
 ``

    (3) a non-land-grant college of agriculture (as defined 
 in such section);
 ``

    (4) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college and 
 university (as defined in such section);
 ``

    (5) a State department of agriculture;
 ``

    (6) a nonprofit organization;
 ``

    (7) a community-based organization; or
 ``

    (8) a combination of 2 or more eligible entities 
 described in paragraphs

    (1) through

    (7) .
 ``
            (c) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use the funds received through the grant--
 ``

    (1) to provide training and classroom education that 
 leads to a comprehensive understanding of farm and ranch 
 business operations and management practices;
 ``

    (2) to develop or identify curriculum that veteran 
 farmers and ranchers can adopt to help manage their enterprise;
 ``

    (3) to offer education, workshops, tours, and instructor-
 supervised field experiences; or
 ``

    (4) to support any other activity, as identified by the 
 Secretary, to increase the number of military veterans pursuing 
 knowledge and skills development in agriculture.
 ``
            (d) Matching Funds.--An entity that receives a grant under this 
section shall provide non-Federal matching funds for the purposes of 
carrying out this section in an amount equal to not less than the 
amount of the grant.
 ``

    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.
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