Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 1.djvu/1184

 110 STAT. 1160 PUBLIC LAW 104-127—APR. 4, 1996 "(ii) one or more individuals who are employed by, or are officials of— "(I) a State cooperative institution or State cooperative agency; or "(II) a public college or university or other postsecondary institution.". SEC. 804. COORDINATION AND PLANNING OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION. The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 is amended by inserting after section 1413 (7 U.S.C. 3128) the following: 7 USC 3129. "SEC. 14I3A. ACCOUNTABILITY. "(a) REVIEW OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS. —The Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art information technology systems that are available for use in developing the system required by subsection (b). "(b) MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM.— The Secretary shall develop and carry out a system to monitor and evaluate agricultural research and extension activities conducted or supported by the Department of Agriculture that will enable the Secretary to measure the impact and effectiveness of research, extension, and education programs according to priorities, goals, and mandates established by law. In developing the system, the Secretary shall incorporate information transfer technologies to optimize public access to research information. "(c) CONSISTENCY WiTH OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— The Secretary shall develop and implement the system in a manner consistent with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-62; 107 Stat. 285) and amendments made by the Act. "(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— T here are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section. 7 USC 3129a. "SEC. 1413B. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT EXEMPTION FOR COMPETITIVE RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS. "The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and title XVIII of this Act shall not apply to any committee, board, commission, panel, or task force, or similar entity, created solely for the purpose of reviewing applications or proposals requesting funding under any competitive research, extension, or education program carried out by the Secretary.". SEC. 805. GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES EDUCATION. (a) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—Section 1417(b) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: "(4) to design and implement food and agricultural programs to build teaching and research capacity at colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments;". (b) RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS.— Section 1417(c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3152(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

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