Sponsors (6)
Introduced November 12, 2025 by Andrea Salinas · Last progress November 12, 2025
The bill offers targeted, multiyear funding, technical assistance, and prioritization to help underserved rural and tribal communities leverage federal and private investment, but it imposes significant local match requirements, restrictions on capital use, administrative costs, and funding uncertainty that could leave some needy areas underfunded and increase taxpayer spending.
Rural communities will receive predictable multiyear grant funding (2–5 year terms) to support planning, recovery, job retention, and regional projects.
Resource‑constrained rural organizations will get multi‑year technical assistance and simpler application processes, making it easier for local governments, nonprofits, and small businesses to access and manage federal funding.
High‑poverty nonmetropolitan areas and Indian Tribes are prioritized, including a guaranteed minimum tribal share (at least 5%), directing more resources to underserved rural and tribal populations.
Many applicants must provide significant non‑Federal matching funds (often 25–30%), which may exclude or strain resource‑limited rural communities, local governments, and nonprofits unless waivers are granted.
Program effectiveness and distribution are uncertain because funding is subject to annual appropriations, there are allocation caps (e.g., 5% per State), and some prioritization is left to the Secretary — which could leave high‑need areas underfunded.
Restrictions on allowable uses — including prohibitions on purchasing/leasing real property or equipment and limits on capital expenditures (e.g., max 50%) — reduce flexibility for capital‑intensive rural projects.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates a USDA Rural Partnership grant program and a national intermediary capacity-grant program, sets Tribal and state allocation rules, and reorganizes a federal Rural Partners Network to improve coordination.
Creates a USDA-led Rural Partnership Program to fund multiyear partnerships that coordinate federal, nonprofit, and private investment in designated rural areas, and establishes a separate national competitive grant program to fund intermediary organizations that provide technical assistance and capacity building to rural communities. Sets allocation rules (including a Tribal minimum of 5% of annual funds), selection processes, grant lengths (2–5 years for partnerships; up to 5 years for intermediaries), and limits on uses of capacity grants, all subject to available appropriations. Reconfigures the existing federal rural council into a Rural Partners Network, adds new federal members and regional development entities, and directs the Network to reduce administrative burdens, streamline federal assistance, promote early technical assistance, and coordinate cross-agency strategies to help economically distressed and resource-constrained rural places access federal programs.