Summary

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide technical assistance and strengthen local capacity within one year so local partners in underserved and distressed rural areas can better access USDA rural development programs. Requires annual public reporting to Congress and public publication starting one year after enactment on how that assistance affected those areas, and defines which rural places qualify as "geographically underserved and distressed."

• Requires USDA to provide technical assistance and build local capacity to improve access to rural development programs.
• Assistance can be delivered directly by USDA or through cooperative agreements with partners.
• Targets local partners in rural areas that are socially vulnerable, persistently poor, economically distressed, or lacking basic water/sewer/housing near the U.S.–Mexico border.
• Assistance must begin within one year of enactment.
• Requires annual public reports to Congress and public publication on the assistance's effects, starting one year after enactment.
• Defines eligible local partners broadly to include governments, cooperatives, businesses, health care entities, community anchor institutions, and nonprofits.
• Does not itself appropriate funding or alter program eligibility rules for USDA programs.