,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dgcj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #aj1     
#bjbf,mr4 ,hickenlooper 7for himself1   
,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mrs4  
,hyde-,smith1 ,mr4 ,kelly1 and ,mr4     
,husted7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1
 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the
 ,national ,agricultural ,research1     
,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act  
of #aigg to authorize capacity building 
grants for community college agriculture
 and natural resources programs4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,community ,college ,agriculture    
,advancement ,act of #bjbf4  #b4        
,capacity building grants for community 
college agriculture and natural         
resources programs ,subtitle ,k of the  
,national ,agricultural ,research1      
,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act  
of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ccaj et seq47 is
 amended by adding at the end the       

following3  #adgc;,i4 ,capacity building
 grants for community college           
agriculture and natural resources       
programs  7a7 ,definitions ,in this     
section3 7#a7 ,eligible entity ,the term
 eligible entity means-- 7,a7 a junior  
or community college supporting         
agriculture advancement2 and  7,b7 a    
consortium or alliance of #b-year public
 colleges supporting agriculture        
advancement4  7#b7 ,junior or community 
college ,the term junior or community   
college has the meaning given the term  
in section #cab of the ,higher          
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajeh74  7b7 ,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 training1 
education1 research1 and outreach       
activities relating to-- 7#a7           
agriculture2 and  7#b7 other similar    
disciplines4  7c7 ,priority ,in making  

grants under subsection 7b71 the        
,secretary shall give priority to an    
eligible entity coordinating with a     
local agriculture industry operator to  
provide experiential training and other 
opportunities for students4  7d7 ,use of
 funds ,an eligible entity that receives
 a grant under subsection 7b7 may use   
the funds made available through the    
grant to expand and maintain the        
capacity of the eligible entity-- 7#a7  
to successfully compete for funds from  
,federal grants and other sources to    
carry out educational1 research1 and    
outreach activities that address        
priority concerns of national1 regional1
 ,state1 and local interest2  7#b7 to   
offer educational programming on        
agricultural industry jobs1 including   
farm business management-related        
subjects1 such as accounting1 paralegal 
studies1 and finance2  7#c7 to          
disseminate information relating to the 
priority concerns described in paragraph
 7#a7 to interested members of the      

agriculture and other relevant          
communities and to the public2  7#d7 to 
encourage members of those communities  
to participate in priority education1   
research1 and outreach activities       
through providing matching funding from 
sources other than funds received       
through the grant2 and  7#e7 through--  
7,a7 the purchase or other acquisition  
of equipment and other infrastructure   
7not including the alteration1 repair1  
renovation1 or construction of          
buildings72  7,b7 the professional      
growth and development of faculty2 and  
7,c7 the development of apprenticeships 
and other work-based learning           
opportunities4  7e7 ,centers of         
agriculture advancement  7#a7 ,in       
general ,an eligible entity may submit  
to the ,secretary an application for    
designation and funding as a center of  
excellence for agriculture advancement4 
7#b7 ,use of funds ,a center of         
excellence for agriculture advancement  
designated under paragraph 7#a7 shall   

use funding received as a result of that
 designation-- 7,a7 to demonstrate best 
practices relating to agriculture2 and  
7,b7 to provide leadership in capacity  
building at a regional or national      
level4  7f7 ,evaluation and report ,not 
later than #c years after the date of   
enactment of this section1 the          
,secretary shall-- 7#a7 conduct an      
evaluation of activities carried out    
under this section2 and  7#b7 submit a  
report describing the evaluation        
conducted under paragraph 7#a7 to-- 7,a7
 the ,committee on ,agriculture of the  
,house of ,representatives2  7,b7 the   
,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 
and ,forestry of the ,senate2  7,c7 the 
,committee on ,appropriations of the    
,house of ,representatives2 and  7,d7   
the ,committee on ,appropriations of the
 ,senate4  7g7 ,authorization of        
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #bj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal  
years #bjbg through #bjca4  4