
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC2204f]

 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
                  CHAPTER 55--DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
Sec. 2204f. Fund for Rural America


(a) In general

    There is established in the Treasury of the United States an account 
to be known as the Fund for Rural America (referred to in this section 
as the ``Account'') to provide funds for activities described in 
subsection (c) of this section.

(b) Funding

                           (1) In general

        On October 1, 1998, and each October 1 thereafter through 
    October 1, 2002, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise 
    appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 
    $60,000,000 to the Account.

                           (2) Entitlement

        The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the 
    ``Secretary'')--
            (A) shall be entitled to receive the funds transferred to 
        the Account under paragraph (1);
            (B) shall accept the funds; and
            (C) shall use the funds to carry out this section.

                            (3) Purposes

        Subject to subsection (d) of this section, of the amounts 
    transferred to the Account for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
    make available--
            (A) for activities described in subsection (c)(1) of this 
        section, not less than \1/3\ and not more than \2/3\ of the 
        funds in the Account; and
            (B) for activities described in subsection (c)(2) of this 
        section, all funds in the Account not made available by the 
        Secretary for activities described in subsection (c)(1) of this 
        section.

(c) Activities

                        (1) Rural development

        (A) In general

            The Secretary may use the funds in the Account for a rural 
        development activity--
                (i) authorized under the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 
            1441 et seq.] for--
                    (I) direct loans to low-income borrowers under 
                section 502 (42 U.S.C. 1472);
                    (II) loans for financial assistance for housing for 
                domestic farm laborers under section 514 (42 U.S.C. 
                1484);
                    (III) financial assistance for housing for domestic 
                farm laborers under section 516 (42 U.S.C. 1486);
                    (IV) payments for elderly who are not now receiving 
                rental assistance under section 521 (42 U.S.C. 1490a);
                    (V) grants and contracts for mutual and self-help 
                housing under section 523(b)(1)(A) (42 U.S.C. 
                1490c(b)(1)(A)); or
                    (VI) grants for rural housing preservation under 
                section 533 (42 U.S.C. 1490m); or

                (ii) conducted under any rural development program, 
            including a program authorized under--
                    (I) the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 
                (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.);
                    (II) subtitle G of title XVI [7 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.] 
                and title XXIII of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 
                and Trade Act of 1990;
                    (III) title V of the Rural Development Act of 1971 
                (7 U.S.C. 2661 et seq.); or
                    (IV) section 1323(b) of the Food Security Act of 
                1985 (Public Law 99-198; 7 U.S.C. 1932 note).

        (B) Limitation on programs funded

            The Secretary may not expend funds made available to carry 
        out activities described in subparagraph (A) for any activity 
        that did not receive appropriations for fiscal year 1995. Funds 
        expended under this section for any program purpose shall be 
        spent in accordance with and subject to the applicable program 
        limitations, restrictions, and priorities found in the 
        underlying program authority and this Act.

        (C) Limitation on housing assistance

            Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available to 
        carry out activities described in subparagraph (A) shall be made 
        available to carry out activities described in subparagraph 
        (A)(i).

        (D) Disclosure of allocation

            For any fiscal year, the Secretary shall not disclose the 
        allocation of funds under this section for any activity 
        described in subparagraph (A) until the date that is 1 day after 
        the date of enactment of legislation authorizing appropriations 
        for the Department of Agriculture for any period in the fiscal 
        year.

                            (2) Research

        (A) In general

            The Secretary may use the funds in the Account for research, 
        extension, and education grants to--
                (i) increase international competitiveness, efficiency, 
            and farm profitability;
                (ii) reduce economic and health risks;
                (iii) conserve and enhance natural resources;
                (iv) develop new crops, new crop uses, and new 
            agricultural applications of biotechnology;
                (v) enhance animal agricultural resources;
                (vi) preserve plant and animal germplasm;
                (vii) increase economic opportunities in farming and 
            rural communities; and
                (viii) expand locally-owned value-added processing.

        (B) Eligible grantee

            The Secretary may make a grant under this paragraph to--
                (i) a Federal research agency;
                (ii) a national laboratory;
                (iii) a college or university or a research foundation 
            maintained by a college or university;
                (iv) a private research organization with an established 
            and demonstrated capacity to perform research or technology 
            transfer; or
                (v) a State agricultural experiment station.

        (C) Use of grant

            (i) In general

                A grant made under this paragraph may be used by a 
            grantee for 1 or more of the following uses:
                    (I) Outcome-oriented research at the discovery end 
                of the spectrum to provide breakthrough results.
                    (II) Exploratory and advanced development and 
                technology with well-identified outcomes.
                    (III) A national, regional, or multi-State program 
                oriented primarily toward extension programs and 
                education programs demonstrating and supporting the 
                competitiveness of United States agriculture.
            (ii) Smaller institutions

                Of the amounts made available for activities described 
            in this paragraph, not less than 15 percent shall be awarded 
            to colleges, universities, or research foundations eligible 
            for a grant under subparagraph (B)(iii) that rank in the 
            lowest \1/3\ of such colleges, universities, and foundations 
            on the basis of Federal research funds received under a 
            provision of law other than this section.

        (D) Administration

            (i) Priority

                In administering this paragraph, the Secretary shall--
                    (I) establish criteria for allocating grants based 
                on the priorities in subparagraph (A) and in 
                consultation with the National Agricultural Research, 
                Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board 
                established under section 3123 of this title;
                    (II) seek and accept proposals for grants;
                    (III) determine the relevance and merit of proposals 
                through a system of peer review and review by the 
                National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, 
                and Economics Advisory Board; and
                    (IV) award grants on the basis of merit, quality, 
                and relevance to advancing the purposes of federally 
                supported agricultural research, extension, and 
                education provided in section 3101 of this title.
            (ii) Competitive basis

                A grant under this paragraph shall be awarded on a 
            competitive basis.
            (iii) Terms

                A grant under this paragraph shall have a term that does 
            not exceed 5 years.
            (iv) Matching funds

                As a condition of making a grant under this paragraph, 
            the Secretary shall require the funding of the grant with 
            equal matching funds from a non-Federal source if the grant 
            is--
                    (I) for applied research that is commodity-specific; 
                and
                    (II) not of national scope.
            (v) Delegation

                The Secretary shall administer this section through the 
            Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 
            of the Department of Agriculture.
            (vi) Availability of funds

                Funds shall be available for obligation under this 
            paragraph for a 2-year period.
            (vii) Administrative costs

                The Secretary may use not more than 4 percent of the 
            funds made available for activities described in this 
            paragraph for administrative costs incurred by the Secretary 
            in carrying out this paragraph.
            (viii) Buildings

                Funds made available for activities described in this 
            paragraph shall not be used for the construction of a new 
            building or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or 
            alteration of an existing building (including site grading 
            and improvement and architect fees).

(d) Limitations

    Amounts in the Account may not be used for an activity described in 
subsection (c) of this section for a fiscal year if the program funding 
level for the fiscal year for the activity is less than 90 percent of 
the amount appropriated for the activity for fiscal year 1996, adjusted 
for inflation.

(Pub. L. 104-127, title VII, Sec. 793, Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 1152; 
Pub. L. 105-185, title II, Sec. 252, June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 557; Pub. 
L. 105-277, div. A, Sec. 101(a) [title VII, Sec. 753(c)(1)], Oct. 21, 
1998, 112 Stat. 2681, 2681-33.)

                       References in Text

    The Housing Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(A)(i), is act 
July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, as amended, which is classified 
principally to chapter 8A (Sec. 1441 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public 
Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of Title 42 and Tables.
    The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, referred to in 
subsec. (c)(1)(A)(ii)(I), is title III of Pub. L. 87-128, Aug. 8, 1961, 
75 Stat. 307, as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 50 
(Sec. 1921 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this 
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1921 of this 
title and Tables.
    The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, referred 
to in subsec. (c)(1)(A)(ii)(II), is Pub. L. 101-624, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 
Stat. 3359, as amended. Subtitle G of title XVI of the Act, known as the 
Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Act of 1990, is 
classified generally to subchapter VI (Sec. 5901 et seq.) of chapter 88 
of this title. Title XXIII of the Act [104 Stat. 3979] is known as the 
Rural Economic Development Act of 1990. For complete classification of 
the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to the Code, 
see Short Title of 1990 Amendments note set out under section 1421 of 
this title and Tables. For complete classification of the Rural Economic 
Development Act of 1990 to the Code, see Short Title of 1990 Amendment 
note set out under section 1921 of this title and Tables.
    The Rural Development Act of 1971, referred to in subsec. 
(c)(1)(A)(ii)(III), probably means the Rural Development Act of 1972, 
which is Pub. L. 92-419, Aug. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 657, as amended. Title 
V of the Act is title V of Pub. L. 92-419, as added by Pub. L. 97-98, 
title XIV, Sec. 1444(a), Dec. 22, 1981, 95 Stat. 1322, as amended, which 
is classified generally to subchapter II (Sec. 2661 et seq.) of chapter 
59 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see Tables.
    This Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(B), is Pub. L. 104-127, Apr. 
4, 1996, 110 Stat. 888, known as the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
Reform Act of 1996. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see Short Title note set out under section 7201 of this title and 
Tables.


                               Amendments

    1998--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105-185 added par. (1) and struck out 
heading and text of former par. (1). Text read as follows: ``On January 
1, 1997, October 1, 1998, and October 1, 1999, out of any funds in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer $100,000,000 to the Account.''
    Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(v). Pub. L. 105-277 added cl. (v).


                    Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 105-277 effective June 23, 1998, see section 
101(a) [title VII, Sec. 753(f)] of Pub. L. 105-277, set out as a note 
under section 343 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 450i of this title.
