Experienced services program

The Secretary shall establish an experienced services program (referred to in this section as the “program”) for the purpose of utilizing the talents of individuals who are age 55 or older, but who are not employees of the Department of Agriculture or a State agriculture department, to provide— technical, professional, and administrative services to support the research, education, and economics mission area of the Department of Agriculture (including the Agricultural Research Service, the Economic Research Service, the National Agricultural Library, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Office of the Chief Scientist, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture), including— Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to Federal grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts, to carry out the program during a fiscal year, the Secretary may enter into agreements with nonprofit private agencies and organizations eligible to receive grants for that fiscal year under the Community Service Senior Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) to secure participants for the program who will provide technical, professional, or administrative services, as applicable, under the program. Before entering into an agreement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that the agreement would not— Except as provided in paragraph (2), with respect to subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may carry out the program using funds made available to carry out each program under this chapter. Funds made available to carry out the conservation reserve program may not be used to carry out the program. With respect to services referred to in subsection (a)(2), the Secretary may carry out the program under the mission area referred to in such subsection to the extent that funds are specifically appropriated to provide such services under such mission area. An individual providing technical, professional, or administrative services, as applicable, under the program is deemed to be an employee of the United States Government for purposes of chapter 171 of title 28 if the individual—