# Plain Language Summary of H.R. 2239

This bill would cap the budget for the USDA's Office of Civil Rights at $24.2 million for the year 2024. The Office of Civil Rights is the part of the Department of Agriculture responsible for handling discrimination complaints and civil rights issues within the agency. This includes investigating claims of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, or other protected characteristics, and ensuring the USDA follows federal civil rights laws.

By putting a spending limit on this office, the bill would restrict how many staff members it can employ and how many cases it can investigate or process. If the office normally receives more funding than $24.2 million, it would have to reduce its operations. This means fewer people working on civil rights complaints, potentially longer wait times for investigations, and less capacity to handle discrimination cases filed by USDA employees or people dealing with USDA programs like farm loans or food assistance.

The practical impact would fall on anyone who files a civil rights complaint with the USDA or works for the agency and experiences discrimination. These individuals might face delays in getting their complaints investigated or resolved. Additionally, the USDA itself might struggle to ensure it's complying with federal civil rights requirements across all its programs and offices. The bill was introduced in March 2023 and has not passed into law.

To provide for a limitation on availability of funds for US Department of Agriculture, Executive Operations, Office of Civil Rights for fiscal year 2024.

Biggs, Andy

 <p>This bill limits FY2024 funding for the Department of Agriculture's Office of Civil Rights.</p>