Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998

Sec. 1673. Agricultural telecommunications program

7 USC 5926

• (a) PURPOSE. -- The program (hereafter referred to in this section as the "program") established under this section is intended to encourage the development and utilization of an agricultural communications network to facilitate and to strengthen agricultural extension, resident education and research, and domestic and international marketing of United States agricultural commodities and products through a partnership between eligible institutions and the Department of Agriculture. The network will employ satellite and other telecommunications technology to disseminate and to share academic instruction, cooperative extension programming, agricultural research, and marketing information.

• (b) OBJECTIVES. -- The objectives of the program established under this section are -
  • (1) to make optimal use of available resources for agricultural extension, resident education, and research by sharing resources between participating institutions;
  • (2) to improve the competitive position of United States agriculture in international markets by disseminating information to producers, processors, and researchers;
  • (3) to train students for careers in agriculture and food industries;
  • (4) to facilitate interaction among leading agricultural scientists;
  • (5) to enhance the ability of United States agriculture to respond to environmental and food safety concerns; and
  • (6) to identify new uses for farm commodities and to increase the demand for United States agricultural products in both domestic and foreign markets.

• (c) DEFINITIONS. -- For purposes of this section -
  • (1) The term "A*DEC" means the distance education consortium known as A*DEC.
  • (2) The term "eligible institution" means an accredited institution of higher education determined by the Secretary to be able to meet the objectives identified in subsection (b) of this section.
  • (3) The term "communications network" refers to television or cable television origination or distribution equipment, signal conversion equipment (including both modulators and demodulators), computer hardware and software, programs or terminals, or related devices, used to process and exchange data through a telecommunications system in which signals are generated, modified, or prepared for transmission, or received, via telecommunications terminal equipment or via telecommunications transmission.
  • (4) The term "delivery" means the transmission and reception of programs by facilities that transmit, receive, or carry data between telecommunications terminal equipment at each end of a telecommunications circuit or path.
  • (5) The term "facilities" includes microwave antennae, fiberoptic cables and repeaters, coaxial cables, communications satellite ground station complexes, copper cable electronic equipment associated with telecommunications transmission, and similar items as defined by the Secretary.
  • (6) The term "satellite ground station complex" includes transmitters, receivers, and communications antennae at the Earth station site together with the interconnecting terrestrial transmission facilities (including cables, line, or microwave facilities) and modulating and demodulating equipment necessary for processing traffic received from the terrestrial distribution system prior to transmission via satellite and the traffic received from the satellite prior to transfer to terrestrial distribution systems.
  • (7) Except as provided in subsection (d)(1), the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through A*DEC.

• (d) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS. --
  • (1) The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a program, to be administered through a grant provided to A*DEC under terms and conditions established by the Secretary of Agriculture, under which financial and technical assistance may be provided to eligible institutions that participate in a network that distributes programs consistent with the objectives described in subsection (b) of this section.
  • (2) The Secretary may approve all or part of any application submitted by an eligible institution if the proposed activity will contribute, directly or indirectly, to the purpose and objectives of the program established under this section.
  • (3) As provided in subsection (f) of this section, applications for financial assistance may include requests to fund program production or program delivery, or both.

• (e) PRIORITY. -- The Secretary, in considering applications for assistance under this program, shall establish procedures to ensure a broad dissemination of programming, giving a preference to applications that -
  • (1) are submitted by institutions affiliated with an established agricultural telecommunications network that distributes programs to a wide geographical area; or
  • (2) demonstrate the need for such assistance, taking into consideration the relative needs of all applicants and the financial ability of the applicants to otherwise secure or create the telecommunications system.

• (f) APPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAM PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY. --
  • (1) The Secretary shall consider applications for financial assistance for the production and delivery of programs of cooperative extension, academic instruction in agriculture, agricultural research, and other topics consistent with the objectives described in subsection (b) of this section.
  • (2) Eligible institutions shall request assistance by submitting applications to A*DEC. Applications shall include -
    • (A) a detailed description of the telecommunications network and programming proposed to be produced and delivered, including to whom the programming will be distributed, how the programming will contribute to achieving the objectives described in subsection (b) of this section, and the total cost of producing and delivering such programming;
    • (B) the amount of assistance requested for the proposed program authorized under this section and other sources of funding that will be used for the proposed program; and
    • (C) an analysis of the costs and benefits of purchasing (or leasing) different types of facilities, equipment, components, hardware and software, or other items.

• (g) LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE. --
  • (1) The Secretary may provide funds totaling not more than 50 percent of the cost of a proposal for which an application is submitted under subsection (f) of this section. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Secretary may provide funds totaling up to 100 percent of the cost of such a proposal if the Secretary determines that an eligible institution would otherwise be unable to carry out the proposal.
  • (2) The Secretary may allocate not more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated under this section for the acquisition and installation of telecommunications transmission facilities.

• (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. -- For the purposes of implementing the program established under this section, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated not more than $12,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1991 through 1995.