7 USC 5103 – Participation of Federal agencies
(a) Duties of Secretary of Agriculture
(1) In general
The Secretary, with respect to each program or agency under the jurisdiction of the Secretary—
(A) shall prescribe rules requiring each such program or agency to participate in good faith in any State mediation program certified under section 5101 of this title;
(B) shall participate in mediation programs certified under section 5101 of this title; and
(C) shall—
(i) cooperate in good faith with requests for information or analysis of information made in the course of mediation under any mediation program certified under section 5101 of this title; and
(ii) if applicable, present and explore debt restructuring proposals advanced in the course of such mediation.
(2) Nonbinding on Secretary
The Secretary shall not be bound by any determination made in a program described in section 5101 of this title if the Secretary has not agreed to such determination.
(b) Duties of Farm Credit Administration
The Farm Credit Administration shall prescribe rules requiring the institutions of the Farm Credit System—
(1) to cooperate in good faith with requests for information or analysis of information made in the course of mediation under any mediation program described in section 5101 of this title; and
(2) to present and explore debt restructuring proposals advanced in the course of such mediation.
Terms Used In 7 USC 5103
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7