§2255b Department of Agriculture conference transparency

Summary

By September 30 each year, the Secretary of Agriculture must send a report to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry about conferences the Department sponsored, held, or that USDA employees attended. For each conference the report must give the name, the location, how many USDA employees went, and the costs (including travel). If a procurement contract was used for a conference, the report must describe how that contracting was done. The report must also be posted in a searchable format on a public USDA website. Exceptions: no report is needed for conferences that cost less than $50,000 or for meetings outside the United States attended by the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee as the U.S. government’s official representative. Conference — a meeting for consultation, education, awareness, or discussion that includes at least one USDA agency, is held at least partly outside a USDA facility, and involves travel and lodging for some participants. Excluded — continuing-education or curriculum-based training programs held separate from a non-governmental organization’s conference.