support for the joint council and advisory board

support for the joint council and advisory board Sec. 1412. (a) To assist the Joint Council and Advisory Board in the performance of their duties, the Secretary is authorized to appoint— (1) not to exceed five full-time professional staff employees qualified in the food and agricultural sciences, and (2) an executive director for such staff who shall perform such duties as the chairmen of the Joint Council and the chairman of the Advisory Board may direct, and who shall receive compensation at a rate not in excess of the rate for GS-18 in the General Schedule set out in section 5332 of title 5 of the United States Code. (b) The Secretary shall provide such additional clerical assistance and staff personnel as may be required to assist the Joint Council and Advisory Board in carrying out their duties. (c) In formulating their recommendations to the Secretary, the Joint Council and Advisory Board may obtain the assistance of Department of Agriculture employees, and, to the, maximum extent practicable, the assistance of employees of other Federal departments and agencies conducting related programs of agricultural research, extension, and teaching and of appropriate representatives of colleges and universities, including State agricultural experiment stations, cooperative extension services, and other non-Federal organizations conducting significant programs in the food and agricultural sciences.