Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act

“4.20. Small farmer loan data collection

“(a) Purpose—The purpose of this section is to affirm that the Farm Credit Administration is the sole and independent regulator of the Farm Credit System.

“(b) Definition—In this section, the term small farmer means a “small farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products” as defined pursuant to section 4.19.

“(c) Collection of demographic data by Farm Credit System lenders—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Farm Credit System institutions, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Farm Credit Administration, shall—

“(1) request that loan applicants and borrowers that are small farmers disclose information identifying their race, sex, and ethnicity;

“(2) collect and maintain the information resulting from the requests; and

“(3) report to the Farm Credit Administration on an annual basis the information collected pursuant to the requests.

“(d) Directions to the Farm Credit Administration—The Farm Credit Administration—

“(1) shall collect the information gathered by Farm Credit System institutions under this section and make the information available to the public on an annual basis; and

“(2) shall not require, in prescribing regulations to implement this section, that any Farm Credit System institution contradict the wishes of a customer who does not wish to voluntarily report race, sex, or ethnicity by requiring the Farm Credit System institution to report the race, sex, or ethnicity of the customer based on visual observation, surname, or any other method.

“(e) Protection of personally identifiable information—In reporting the information collected under this section, the Farm Credit Administration shall not include any information that would reveal the identify of any loan applicant or borrower.

“(f) Effective date—This section shall apply only to applications received and loans made 1 year or more after the date of the enactment of this section.”