I ★ 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 To establish a White House Rural Council, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2021 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. KIND, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To establish a White House Rural Council, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transforming Hiring 4 in Rural Industries and Vital Economies Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. WHITE HOUSE RURAL COUNCIL. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 7 Executive Office of the President a White House Rural 8 Council (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1617 IH1S (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 1 (1) CHAIR.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 2 serve as the Chair of the Council. 3 (2) MEMBERS.—The Council shall be composed 4 of the heads of the following: 5 (A) The Department of the Treasury. 6 (B) The Department of Defense. 7 (C) The Department of Justice. 8 (D) The Department of the Interior. 9 (E) The Department of Commerce. 10 (F) The Department of Labor. 11 (G) The Department of Health and 12 Human Services. 13 (H) The Department of Housing and 14 Urban Development. 15 (I) The Department of Transportation. 16 (J) The Department of Energy. 17 (K) The Department of Education. 18 (L) The Department of Veterans Affairs. 19 (M) The Department of Homeland Secu- 20 rity. 21 (N) The Environmental Protection Agency. 22 (O) The Federal Communications Commis- 23 sion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1617 IH1S (P) The Office of Management and Budg- 1 et. 2 (Q) The Office of Science and Technology 3 Policy. 4 (R) The Office of National Drug Control 5 Policy. 6 (S) The Council of Economic Advisers. 7 (T) The Domestic Policy Council. 8 (U) The National Economic Council. 9 (V) The Small Business Administration. 10 (W) The Council on Environmental Qual- 11 ity. 12 (X) The White House Office of Public En- 13 gagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. 14 (Y) The White House Office of Cabinet Af- 15 fairs. 16 (Z) Any other department, agency, or of- 17 fice of the executive branch as the President or 18 Secretary of Agriculture may designate. 19 (3) DESIGNEES.—Any member of the Council 20 may designate a senior-level official, who is employed 21 full-time in the department, agency, or office of such 22 member, to carry out the duties of the member 23 under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1617 IH1S (c) MEETINGS.—Not later than six months after the 1 date of the enactment of this Act, and every six months 2 thereafter, the Council shall convene a meeting of rep- 3 resentatives of the executive departments, agencies, and 4 offices represented on the Council to develop plans to co- 5 ordinate the efforts of such executive departments, agen- 6 cies, and offices and facilitate efficient services to stake- 7 holders. At such meetings, each such representative 8 shall— 9 (1) share information regarding the rural eco- 10 nomic development efforts and activities of the rep- 11 resentative’s executive department, agency, or office; 12 (2) identify opportunities for collaboration and 13 coordination of research agendas, vulnerability as- 14 sessments, data collection and analysis, and plan- 15 ning and implementing rural economic development 16 projects; 17 (3) identify rural economic development infor- 18 mation needs, research gaps, and decision support 19 needs that are not met by any executive department, 20 agency, or office represented on the Council and 21 make available such identification for purposes of in- 22 formation to be submitted to the Council; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1617 IH1S (4) identify common and complementary goals 1 for rural economic development within each region 2 to be prioritized for the coming year and beyond; 3 (5) identify barriers to rural economic develop- 4 ment planning and implementation that can be over- 5 come or minimized through Federal action and spe- 6 cific suggestions for improvement; 7 (6) evaluate progress and jointly develop a 8 strategy for realizing rural economic development-re- 9 lated goals, including clearly identified responsibil- 10 ities by each collaborating regional office, center, or 11 program; and 12 (7) share experiences and best practices in 13 stakeholder engagement and communication, deci- 14 sion support, and economic development interactions 15 that support the realization of identified rural eco- 16 nomic development goals. 17 (d) DUTIES.—The Council shall carry out the fol- 18 lowing: 19 (1) Coordinate with the Domestic Policy Coun- 20 cil and the National Economic Council to develop 21 the policy of the Council. 22 (2) Coordinate with departments, agencies, and 23 offices of the executive branch to develop policy rec- 24 ommendations that promote economic prosperity and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1617 IH1S quality of life in rural areas (as defined by the Sec- 1 retary of Agriculture) throughout the United States. 2 (3) Make recommendations to the President, 3 through the Director of the Domestic Policy Council 4 and the Director of the National Economic Council, 5 on how to best use Federal investments in rural 6 areas for the purpose of facilitating job growth and 7 economic development. 8 (4) Coordinate and increase the effectiveness of 9 Federal engagement with rural stakeholders, includ- 10 ing agricultural organizations, small businesses, edu- 11 cation and training institutions, health care pro- 12 viders, telecommunications services providers, re- 13 search and land grant institutions, law enforcement, 14 State, local, and Tribal governments, and non- 15 governmental organizations regarding the needs of 16 rural areas throughout the United States. 17 (5) Coordinate Federal efforts directed toward 18 the growth and development of geographic regions 19 that encompass both urban and rural areas. 20 (6) Identify and facilitate rural economic oppor- 21 tunities associated with energy development, outdoor 22 recreation, and other conservation-related activities. 23 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 24 (or staff designated by the Secretary) shall provide to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1617 IH1S Council administrative support services and additional re- 1 sources, as appropriate, to the extent permitted by law and 2 within existing appropriations. The Secretary shall deter- 3 mine the amount of funding and personnel necessary for 4 the Council to carry out its duties and the amount of fund- 5 ing and personnel each department, agency, or office rep- 6 resented on the Council should contribute in order for the 7 Council to carry out such duties. Such department, agen- 8 cy, or office shall, upon the request of the Secretary, make 9 available to the Council personnel, administrative support 10 services, and information. 11 (f) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi- 12 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 13 of this section. Such requirements shall be carried out 14 using amounts otherwise authorized. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jul 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS