(a) Title VI, section 603(b).

(1) Section 603(b) of the Rural Development Act charges the Secretary of Agriculture with providing leadership in the development of a nationwide rural development program. Included in this program would be pertinent Federal departments and agencies which might contribute to this rural development mission. In carrying out his responsibilities, the Secretary shall report annually, prior to September 1, to the Congress on rural development goals for employment, income, population, housing, and quality of community services and facilities. To carry out the provisions of the Act specified above, the following major responsibilities are identified:

(i) The Rural Development Committee of the Domestic Council will assume responsibility for interdepartmental policy formulation and resolution of issues pertaining to this section of the Act as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. This committee consists of members of the Community Development Committee of the Domestic Council, to wit: The Secretary of Agriculture, Chairman of the Rural Development Committee; the Secretary of HUD, Chairman of the Urban Development Committee; the Secretary of Transportation, Chairman of the Transportation Policy Development Committee; the Secretaries of Treasury, Commerce, and Labor and the Director of OMB.

(ii) The Secretary of Agriculture shall be responsible for Washington level coordination pursuant to this section of the Act.

(iii) At the regional level, the Federal Regional Councils shall develop and implement procedures designed to identify and facilitate access to Federal resources appropriate for rural development purposes within States. Such procedures will be consistent with policies expressed or endorsed by the Under Secretaries' Group. The Councils shall also be responsible for monitoring the effectiveness with which the Rural Development Act is implemented within their respective regions.

(2) The Secretary of Agriculture is also authorized to initiate or expand research and development efforts related to solution of rural development problems including problems of rural water supply, rural sewage and solid waste management, and rural industrialization.

(3) The Rural Development Service will operate a rural development research program and may also participate in rural development research in cooperation with Federal, State, and private research units.

(b) Title VI, section 603(c) of the Rural Development Act.

(1) Under guidance by the Under Secretaries' Group, and under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture member on each of the Federal Regional Councils, the Rural Development Committees of the Federal Regional Councils or other Federal Regional Council mechanisms assigned to work with rural development, shall be responsible for proposing to the appropriate Federal and State agencies actions in such areas as:

(i) Adjustment, where appropriate, of administrative boundaries used by field staffs of Federal and federally supported agencies to conform with boundaries of multicounty jurisdictions. “Multicounty jurisdictions” as used means substate planning districts or other combinations of county jurisdictions as designated by States for State planning purposes.

(ii) Co-location of field units of Federal agencies and consolidation of offices in the vicinity of principal centers of local government administration (including multicounty jurisdictional administration), to encourage increased cooperation within and among different governmental levels.

(iii) Exchange of personnel between Federal and State agencies under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (Pub. L. 91-648), to supplement and broaden staffs administering rural development programs, and provide specific technical expertise for certain projects.

(iv) Interchange of personnel among Federal agencies for the purposes expressed in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section.

(2) In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture member on the Federal Regional Councils shall, by July 31, of each year, report to the Assistant Secretary for Rural Development who shall in turn report to the Under Secretaries' Group and the Congress on progress made in carrying out the programs outlined in paragraphs (b)(1)(ii) through (iv) of this section and plans for programs to be implemented during the following fiscal year. The first report will be due to the Assistant Secretary by July 31, 1974.