(a) Delegation of authority(1) Delegation authorizedSubject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may delegate to any agency, office, officer, or employee of the Department the authority to perform any function transferred to the Secretary under section 6911(a) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title or any other function vested in the Secretary as of October 13, 1994. The authority provided in the preceding sentence includes the authority to establish, consolidate, alter, or discontinue any agency, office, or other administrative unit of the Department.
(2) Condition on authorityThe delegation authority provided by paragraph (1) shall be subject to—(A) sections 6942, 6971(f), 6993, and 2204e of this title and subsections (a) and (b)(1) of section 6981 of this title;
(B) sections 5692 and 5693 of this title; and
(C) section 590h(b)(5) of title 16.
(b) Cost-benefit analysis required for name change(1) Analysis requiredExcept as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall conduct a cost-benefit analysis before changing the name of any agency, office, division, or other unit of the Department to ensure that the benefits to be derived from changing the name of the agency, office, division, or other unit outweigh the expense of executing the name change.
(2) ExceptionParagraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any name change required or authorized by this chapter.
(c) Public comment on proposed reorganizationTo the extent that the implementation of the authority provided to the Secretary by this chapter to reorganize the Department involves the creation of new agencies or offices within the Department or the delegation of major functions or major groups of functions to any agency or office of the Department (or the officers or employees of such agency or office), the Secretary shall, to the extent considered practicable by the Secretary—(1) give appropriate advance public notice of the proposed reorganization action or delegation; and
(2) afford appropriate opportunity for interested parties to comment on the proposed reorganization action or delegation.
(d) Interagency transfer of records, property, personnel, and funds(1) Related transfersSubject to paragraph (2), as part of the transfer or delegation of a function of the Department made or authorized by this chapter, the Secretary may transfer within the Department—(A) any of the records, property, or personnel affected by the transfer or delegation of the function; and
(B) unexpended balances (available or to be made available for use in connection with the transferred or delegated function) of appropriations, allocations, or other funds of the Department.
(2) Applicable law relating to funds transferSection 1531 of title 31 shall apply to any transfer of funds under paragraph (1).
(e) Exhaustion of administrative appealsNotwithstanding any other provision of law, a person shall exhaust all administrative appeal procedures established by the Secretary or required by law before the person may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction against—(1) the Secretary;
(2) the Department; or
(3) an agency, office, officer, or employee of the Department.
Structure US Code
CHAPTER 98— DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE REORGANIZATION
SUBCHAPTER I— GENERAL REORGANIZATION AUTHORITIES
§ 6912. Authority of Secretary to delegate transferred functions
§§ 6913, 6914. Repealed. , (3), ,
§ 6915. Combination of field offices
§ 6916. Improvement of information sharing
§ 6918. Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture
§ 6919. Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison
§ 6920. Office of Energy Policy and New Uses
§ 6921. Office of Tribal Relations
§ 6922. Office of Homeland Security
§ 6923. Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production