Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act

Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act

This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and modifies the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) Program. This Department of Agriculture (USDA) program provides grants to nonprofit institutions to help individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses through Rural Cooperative Development Centers.

USDA must give preference to grants that commit to providing technical assistance and other services to socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities. Under current law, USDA must give preference to underserved and economically distressed areas in rural areas.

In addition, USDA may give an additional preference to applications that commit to providing a 25% matching contribution for the center with private funds and in-kind contributions. Specifically, USDA may award the maximum points in application scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy this requirement.

Under the bill, cooperative development includes activities (e.g., outreach, education, training, and technical assistance) to support the startup, expansion, or ongoing sustainability of new and existing cooperatives. Current law does not define cooperative development.

The bill directs the RCDG interagency working group to submit an annual report to Congress on its activities.

Finally, the program currently includes cooperative research program requirements to collect data on the effects of all types of cooperatives on the national economy. Under the bill, USDA must analyze the data resulting from the research and include the data and analysis in the annual report to Congress.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1951 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1951

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to reauthorize 
                 rural cooperative development grants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2025

  Mr. Riley of New York (for himself and Mr. Valadao) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to reauthorize 
                 rural cooperative development grants.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and 
Communities Act''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF RURAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

    Section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 
(7 U.S.C. 1932(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Cooperative development.--The term 
                `cooperative development' means activities including 
                outreach, education, training, and technical 
                assistance, to support the startup, expansion, or 
                ongoing sustainability of new and existing 
                cooperatives.'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, and award maximum 
        points in scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy the 
        requirements of paragraph (5)(F),'' before ``if the plan'';
            (3) in paragraph (5), by striking subparagraph (D) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(D) commit to providing technical assistance and 
                other services to socially vulnerable, underserved, or 
                distressed communities;'';
            (4) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking ``If the Secretary 
        determines it to be in the best interest of the program, the'' 
        and inserting ``The'';
            (5) in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the following: 
        ``The Secretary shall analyze the data resulting from the 
        research, and include the data and the analysis in the annual 
        report submitted by the interagency working group under 
        paragraph (12).'';
            (6) in paragraph (12), by adding at the end the following: 
        ``Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
        this sentence and annually thereafter, the interagency working 
        group shall submit to the Congress a report describing the 
        activities carried out by the working group.''; and
            (7) in paragraph (13), by striking ``2014 through 2023'' 
        and inserting ``2025 through 2029''.
                                 <all>