(b) The Joint Council shall be composed of representatives from the Department of Agriculture and those of its agencies with significant research and extension responsibilities, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the land-grant colleges and universities, State agricultural experiment stations, State cooperative extension services, and those colleges and universities, other public and private institutions, producers, and representatives of the public who are interested in and have a potential to contribute, as determined by the Secretary, to the formulation of national policy in the food and agricultural sciences. The Joint Council shall be jointly chaired by the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture responsible for research, extension, and teaching, and a person to be elected from among the non-Federal membership of the Joint Council.

(c) The Joint Council shall meet at least once during each threemonth period. At least one meeting each year shall be a combined meeting with the Advisory Board.

(d) (1) The primary responsibility of the Joint Council shall be to foster coordination of the agricultural research, extension, and teaching activities of the Federal Government, the States, colleges and universities, and other public and private institutions and persons involved in the food and agricultural sciences.

(2) The Joint Council's responsibilities shall also be to

(A) provide a forum for the interchange of information among the organizations represented by the members of the Joint Council that will assure improved awareness among these organizations concerning the agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs, results, and directions of each organization;

(B) analyze and evaluate the economic, environmental, and social impacts of agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs conducted in the United States and determine high priority agricultural research areas, and submit annual reports identifying such high priority research areas to the Secretary;

(C) develop and review the effectivness of a system, for use by the Secretary, of compiling, maintaining, and disseminating information about each federally supported agricultural research or extension project and, to the maximum extent possible, information about private agricultural research and extension projects conducted by colleges and universities, foundations, contract research groups, businesses, and others. Information about private agricultural research and extension projects shall not be included in this system unless they are partially or entirely funded by the Federal Government or the organizations sponsoring the projects agree to the inclusion of information about such projects;

(D) assist the parties in developing, reviewing, and evaluating memoranda of understanding or other documents that detail the terms and conditions between the Secretary and the participants in agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs under this Act and other Acts;

(E) assist the Secretary in carrying out the responsibilities assigned to the Secertary under this title through planning and coordination efforts in the food and agricultural sciences that utilize an effective system of regional and national planning, and

by the development of recommendations and reports describing current and long-range needs, priorities, and goals in the food and agricultural sciences and means to achieve these goals;

(F) develop, and review the effectiveness of, guidelines for use by the Secretary in making competitive grants under section 2(b) of the Act of August 4, 1965 (79 Stat. 431; 7 U.S.C. 450i), as amended by section 1414 of this title; and

(G) prepare and submit to the Secretary, not later than December 31 of each year, a statement of recommendations which shall include

(i) the Joint Council's recommendations as to unified national, regional, or interstate agricultural research, extension, or teaching programs to be implemented during the following fiscal year, delineating suggested areas of responsibility for Federal and State agencies in carrying out such programs, and the overall planning, evaluation, coordination, and support necessary for such programs, and

(ii) a summary of agricultural research, extension, and teaching achievements made during, and the status of ongoing projects as of the end of, the prior fiscal year, with respect to the programs conducted by the organizations represented by the members of the Joint Council.

Minority views, if timely submitted, shall be included in the submission. The Secretary shall submit copies of the statement to the Subcommittee on Food and Renewable Resources of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, and the Advisory Board.

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION USERS ADVISORY

BOARD

SEC. 1408.5 (a) The Secretary shall establish within the Department of Agriculture a board to be known as the National Agricultural Research and Extension Users Advisory Board which shall have a term of five years.

(b) The Advisory Board shall be composed of the following twentyone members to be appointed by the Secretary

(1) four members representing producers of agricultural commodities, forest products, and aquacultural products,

(2) four members representing consumer interests,

(3) two members representing farm suppliers and food and fiber processors,

(4) two members representing food marketing interests,
(5) two members representing environmental interests,
(6) one member engaged in rural development work,
(7) two members engaged in human nutrition work,
(8) one member representing animal health interests,

(9) one member engaged in transportation of food and agricultural products to domestic or foreign markets,

(10) one member representing labor organizations primarily concerned with the production, processing, distribution, or transportation of food and agricultural products, and

57 U.S.C. 3123.

(11) one member representing private sector organizations involved in development programs and issues in developing countries.

(c) The Advisory Board shall select a chairman and vice-chairman from its membership, at its first meeting each year, who shall serve in those positions for a term of one year.

(d) The Advisory Board shall meet at least once during each fourmonth period. At least one meeting each year shall be a combined meeting with the Joint Council.

(e) The Advisory Board is authorized to establish such panels as it deems appropriate to develop information, reports, advice, and recommendations for the use of the Advisory Board in meeting its responsibilities. Members of such panels may include members of the Advisory Board, Advisory Board staff members, individuals from the Department of Agriculture and other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, and individuals from the private sector who have expertise in the subject to be examined by the panel.

(f) (1) The Advisory Board shall have general responsibility for preparing independent advisory opinions on the food and agricultural

sciences.

(2) The Advisory Board shall have the specific responsibilities for

(A) reviewing the policies, plans, and goals of programs within the Department of Agriculture involving the food and agricultural sciences, and related programs in other Federal and State departments and agencies and in the colleges and universities developed by the Secretary under this title;

(B) reviewing and assessing the extent of agricultural research and extension being conducted by private foundations and businesses, and the relationships of such research and extension to federally supported agricultural research and extension;

(C) reviewing and providing consultation to the Secretary on national policies, priorities, and strategies for agricultural research and extension for both the short and long term;

(D) assessing the overall adequacy of, and making recommendations to the Secretary with regard to, the distribution of resources and the allocation of funds authorized by this title;

(E) preparing and submitting to the Secretary, not later than October 31 of each year, a statement of recommendations as to allocations of responsibilities and levels of funding among federally supported agricultural research and extension programs, which shall include a review and an assessment of the allocation of funds for agricultural research and extension made for the preceding fiscal year by the organizations represented on the Joint Council. Minority views, if timely submitted, shall be included in the submission. The Secretary shall submit copies of the statement to the Subcommittee on Food and Renewable Resources of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, and the Joint Council; and

(F) not later than March 1 of each year submitting a report on its appraisal of the President's proposed budget for the food and agricultural sciences for the fiscal year beginning in such year and the recommendations of the Secretary contained in the

annual report submitted by the Secretary pursuant to the provisions of section 1410 of this title. Such report shall be submitted to the President, the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The report may include the separate views of members of the Advisory Board. The first report shall be due not later than March 1, 1979.

EXISTING RESEARCH PROGRAMS

SEC. 1409. It is the intent of Congress in enacting this title to augment, coordinate, and supplement the planning, initiation, and conduct of agricultural research programs existing prior to the enactment of this title, except that it is not the intent of Congress in enacting this title to limit the authority of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under any Act which the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare administers.

SECRETARY'S REPORT

SEC. 1410. The Secretary shall submit to the President and Congress by February 1 of each year a report on the Nation's agricultural research, extension, and teaching activities, and such report shall include

(1) a review covering the following three categories of activities of the Department of Agriculture with respect to agricultural research, extension, and teaching activities and the relationship of these activities to similar activities of other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, the States, colleges and universities, and the private sector

(A) a current inventory of such activities organized by statutory authorization and budget outlay;

(B) a current inventory of such activities organized by field of basic and applied science; and

(C) a current inventory of such activities organized by commodity and product category;

(2) the statements of recommendations of the Joint Council developed pursuant to the provisions of section 1407 (d) (2) (G) of this title and the statement of recommendations of the Advisory Board developed pursuant to the provisions of section 1408 (f) (2) (E) of this title; and

(3) in the second and succeeding years, a five-year projection of national priorities with respect to agricultural research, extension, and teaching, taking into account both domestic and international needs.

LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION NETWORK

SEC. 1411. (a) It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress that

67 U.S.C. 3124. 77 U.S.C. 3125. 87 U.S.C. 3126.

(1) cooperation and coordination among, and the more effective utilization of, disparate agricultural libraries and information units be facilitated;

(2) information and library needs related to agricultural research and education be effectively planned for, coordinated, and evaluated:

(3) a structure for the coordination of the agricultural libraries of colleges and universities, Department of Agriculture libraries, and their closely allied information gathering and disseminating units be established in close conjunction with private industry and other research libraries;

(4) effective access by all colleges and universities and Department of Agriculture personnel to literature and information regarding the food and agricultural sciences be provided; and (5) programs for training in information utilization with respect to the food and agricultural sciences, including research grants for librarians, information scientists, and agricultural scientists be established or strengthened.

(b) There is hereby established within the National Agricultural Library of the Department of Agriculture a Food and Nutrition Information and Education Resources Center. Such Center shall be responsible for

(1) assembling and collecting food and nutrition education materials, including the results of nutrition research, training methods, procedures, and other materials related to the purpose of this title;

(2) maintaining such information and materials in a library; and

(3) providing for the dissemination of such information and materials on a regular basis to State educational agencies and other interested persons.

(c) Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually in such amounts as Congress may determine necessary to support the purposes of this section. The Secretary is authorized to carry out this section with existing facilities through the use of grants, contracts, or such other means as the Secretary deems appropriate and to require matching of funds. No funds appropriated to support the purposes of this section shall be used to purchase additional equipment unless specifically authorized by law subsequent to the date of enactment of this title.

SUPPORT FOR THE JOINT COUNCIL AND ADVISORY BOARD

SEC. 1412. (a) To assist the Joint Council and Advisory Board in the performance of their duties, the Secretary is authorized to appoint

(1) not to exceed five full-time professional staff employees qualified in the food and agricultural sciences, and

(2) an executive director for such staff who shall perform such duties as the chairmen of the Joint Council and the chairman of the Advisory Board may direct, and who shall receive compensation at a rate not in excess of the rate for GS-18 in the General • 7 U.S.C. 3127.