I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2361 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish the Rural Innovation and Partnership Administration and to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Rural Future Partnership Fund to invest in the rural areas of the United States to achieve their preferred future while maximizing their contribution to the well-being of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 5, 2021 Mr. DELGADO (for himself, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Ms. CRAIG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ag- riculture, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish the Rural Innovation and Part- nership Administration and to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Rural Future Partnership Fund to invest in the rural areas of the United States to achieve their preferred future while maximizing their contribution to the well-being of the United States, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2361 IH 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 ‘‘Rebuild Rural America 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are— 7 (1) to create the scale and capacity that enables 8 rural areas to achieve their preferred future while 9 maximizing their contribution to the well-being of 10 the United States; 11 (2) to recognize the significant contributions of 12 rural areas of the United States to the success of 13 the United States, including the leading role that 14 the rural areas play in addressing the critical threat 15 of climate change and building a resilient United 16 States; 17 (3) to make a national commitment to the rural 18 communities and regions of the United States to en- 19 sure that the rural United States benefits from and 20 contributes to the prosperity of the United States; 21 (4) to establish a partnership with rural areas 22 of the United States that provides flexible, long- 23 term, and annual Federal investment for comprehen- 24 sive, collaborative, and locally driven community and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2361 IH economic development that improves quality of life 1 and economic competitiveness; 2 (5) to strengthen rural population centers 3 through collaboration with neighboring rural areas 4 that ensures economic integration and regional de- 5 velopment; 6 (6) to strengthen connections between rural and 7 urban areas of the United States for mutual success 8 and for the benefit of the economy of the United 9 States and the quality of life of the people of the 10 United States; 11 (7) to support asset-based development, maxi- 12 mizing the cost-effectiveness of existing infrastruc- 13 ture; 14 (8) to ensure economic opportunities that create 15 pathways to high-quality, family-sustaining jobs for 16 all individuals in rural areas of the United States, 17 including efforts to address population loss, to pro- 18 mote the use of cooperatives and other forms of pub- 19 lic and employee ownership, and to expand and im- 20 prove access to training, infrastructure, and invest- 21 ment to adapt to technological change, such as auto- 22 mation, for success in the digital economy; 23 (9) to provide for the evolution and expansion 24 of the role of the Department of Agriculture in en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2361 IH suring that rural communities have a dedicated 1 agency and a new delivery system for Federal assist- 2 ance for disaster recovery and proactive mitigation 3 and resiliency efforts; 4 (10) to rebuild and modernize infrastructure 5 and expand investment to support local and regional 6 food systems, sustainable agriculture production, 7 and value added agricultural industries; 8 (11) to support infill development, preserve un- 9 developed land, and remediate brownfields and other 10 contaminated properties for re-use; and 11 (12) to support public health and improve qual- 12 ity of life in rural communities by delivering— 13 (A) universal access to clean air and water; 14 (B) healthy foods available through local 15 and regional food systems; 16 (C) quality, affordable, and accessible 17 health care services in the rural communities, 18 including access to primary and emergency 19 medical services, mental health care, and treat- 20 ment for substance abuse; 21 (D) affordable and reliable clean energy 22 systems; and 23 (E) quality, affordable, and energy-effi- 24 cient housing choices in the rural communities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2361 IH SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RURAL INNOVATION AND 1 PARTNERSHIP ADMINISTRATION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Department of 3 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6941 4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 237. RURAL INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIP ADMIN- 6 ISTRATION. 7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab- 8 lish in the Department a Rural Innovation and Partner- 9 ship Administration (referred to in this section as the ‘Ad- 10 ministration’). 11 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATOR.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 13 be headed by an Administrator of Rural Innovation 14 and Partnerships (referred to in this section as the 15 ‘Administrator’), who shall be appointed by the Sec- 16 retary. 17 ‘‘(2) REPORTING TO UNDER SECRETARY.—The 18 Administrator shall report to the Under Secretary 19 for Rural Development. 20 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out 21 through the Administration the functions of the Rural Fu- 22 ture Partnership Fund established under subtitle I of the 23 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. 24 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE OFFICES.—In car- 25 rying out the functions of the Administration, the Sec- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2361 IH retary shall ensure that each State office of the rural de- 1 velopment mission area is staffed with not less than 3 new 2 employees to implement the Rural Future Partnership 3 Fund established under subtitle I of the Consolidated 4 Farm and Rural Development Act, including providing— 5 ‘‘(1) technical assistance; 6 ‘‘(2) support for capacity building; 7 ‘‘(3) financial controls; and 8 ‘‘(4) performance oversight. 9 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH COUNCIL ON RURAL COM- 10 MUNITY INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.— 11 In carrying out the functions of the Administration, the 12 Administrator shall coordinate with the Council on Rural 13 Community Innovation and Economic Development estab- 14 lished by section 6306 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 15 of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2204b–3).’’. 16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 17 (1) Section 296(b) of the Department of Agri- 18 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 19 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to estab- 22 lish and maintain in the Department the Rural In- 23 novation and Partnership Administration under sec- 24 tion 237.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2361 IH (2) Section 6306(f) of the Agriculture Improve- 1 ment Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2204b–3(f)) is amend- 2 ed— 3 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 4 the end; 5 (B) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the 6 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(6) give priority to coordinating with the Ad- 9 ministrator of Rural Innovation and Partnerships in 10 carrying out the Rural Future Partnership Fund es- 11 tablished under subtitle I of the Consolidated Farm 12 and Rural Development Act.’’. 13 SEC. 4. RURAL FUTURE PARTNERSHIP FUND. 14 The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 15 (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 16 the following: 17 ‘‘Subtitle I—Rural Future 18 Partnership Fund 19 ‘‘SEC. 385A. DEFINITIONS. 20 ‘‘In this subtitle: 21 ‘‘(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means a 22 rural partnership council established under para- 23 graph (1)(A)(i), (2)(A)(i), or (3)(A)(i), as applicable, 24 of section 385C(a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2361 IH ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PRO- 1 VIDER.—The term ‘eligible technical assistance pro- 2 vider’ means an entity— 3 ‘‘(A) with a demonstrated national or re- 4 gional structure or capacity to deliver and sup- 5 port multiple rural planning activities across 6 the United States or within a region of the 7 United States; and 8 ‘‘(B) that is— 9 ‘‘(i) a federally recognized Indian 10 Tribe; 11 ‘‘(ii) an institution of higher edu- 12 cation; 13 ‘‘(iii) a nonprofit organization; or 14 ‘‘(iv) a private organization. 15 ‘‘(3) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Rural 16 Future Partnership Fund established under section 17 385B. 18 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘institution 20 of higher education’ has the meaning given the 21 term in section 101 of the Higher Education 22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 23 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘institution 24 of higher education’ includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2361 IH ‘‘(i) land-grant colleges and univer- 1 sities (as defined in section 1404 of the 2 National Agricultural Research, Extension, 3 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 4 3103)); and 5 ‘‘(ii) associated cooperative extension 6 services. 7 ‘‘(5) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means a rural 8 partnership plan established under section 385E(a). 9 ‘‘(6) RESERVATION.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘reservation’ 11 has the meaning given the term ‘Indian coun- 12 try’ in section 1151 of title 18, United States 13 Code. 14 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘reservation’ 15 includes land held by a Native group, a Re- 16 gional Corporation, or a Village Corporation (as 17 those terms are defined in section 3 of the Alas- 18 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 19 1602)). 20 ‘‘(7) RURAL PARTNERSHIP BLOCK GRANT.— 21 The term ‘rural partnership block grant’ means a 22 rural partnership block grant awarded under this 23 subtitle. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2361 IH ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 1 the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 2 Rural Innovation and Partnerships. 3 ‘‘(9) WORKFORCE HOUSING.—The term ‘work- 4 force housing’ means, with respect to housing for a 5 family, housing the cost of which does not exceed 30 6 percent of— 7 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), 120 8 percent of the median income in the area in 9 which the family lives, as determined by the 10 Secretary, with appropriate adjustments for the 11 size of the family; or 12 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that there 13 are unusually high- or low-family incomes in the 14 area in which the family lives, such other per- 15 centage, as the Secretary determines to be ap- 16 propriate, of the median income in the area in 17 which the family lives. 18 ‘‘SEC. 385B. ESTABLISHMENT. 19 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a program, to be 20 known as the ‘Rural Future Partnership Fund’, under 21 which the Secretary shall award rural partnership block 22 grants in accordance with this subtitle. 23 ‘‘SEC. 385C. ELIGIBILITY. 24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2361 IH ‘‘(1) MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re- 2 ceive a rural partnership block grant— 3 ‘‘(i) one or more units of local govern- 4 ment that govern a micropolitan statistical 5 area, as defined by the Director of the Of- 6 fice of Management and Budget, shall es- 7 tablish a rural partnership council in ac- 8 cordance with subsection (b); and 9 ‘‘(ii) that Council shall submit an ap- 10 plication to— 11 ‘‘(I) not later than 180 days 12 after the date of enactment of the Re- 13 build Rural America Act of 2021— 14 ‘‘(aa)(AA) the applicable 15 State; or 16 ‘‘(BB) the applicable States, 17 if the micropolitan statistical 18 area spans more than 1 State; 19 and 20 ‘‘(bb) the applicable State 21 offices of the rural development 22 mission area; or 23 ‘‘(II) after the date described in 24 subclause (I), the Secretary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2361.IH H2361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2361 IH ‘‘(B) REGIONAL COLLABORATION.— 1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an 2 application under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), 3 the 1 or more States, in coordination with 4 the applicable State offices of the rural de- 5 velopment mission area, shall advise the 6 applicant on the inclusion in the Council, if 7 practicable, of 1 or more contiguous census 8 tracts or counties that— 9 ‘‘(I) fall outside of a micropolitan 10 or metropolitan statistical area; and 11 ‘‘(II) demonstrate evidence of 12 economic, social, and cultural coopera- 13 tion that enhances the potential for 14 comprehensive, asset-based regional 15 development. 16 ‘‘(ii) DECISION.—After receipt of ad- 17 vice under clause (i), the applicant shall— 18 ‘‘(I) decide whether to include 1 19 or more of the applicable contiguous 20 census tracts or counties in the Coun- 21 cil; and 22 ‘‘(II) modify the application, as 23 appropriate. 24 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm [Text truncated for display. 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