H.R. 7579 — Empowering Rural Communities Act

This section establishes a set-aside reserving not less than 2.5% of funds appropriated for each Rural Development discretionary grant program (i.e., competitive USDA grants for rural infrastructure such as broadband, water and wastewater systems, community facilities, housing, and business development) for technical assistance activities. The section specifies uses of the funds—(1) technical assistance including training, application development, and capacity-building; (2) pre-development support such as engineering and environmental reviews; (3) outreach via workshops and community engagement; and (4) developing project-ready grant applications—and authorizes delivery through cooperative agreements, grants or subgrants, or contracts with eligible entities. It directs the Secretary to prioritize assistance for communities lacking grant-writing staff, with historically low program participation, or in persistent poverty, underserved, or high-need rural areas; requires state Rural Development offices to identify high-need communities, collaborate with providers, and ensure geographically balanced delivery; and specifies that reserved funds are excluded from statutory administrative expense limitations.

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture to submit an annual report to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry describing (1) amounts reserved and expended under this Act, (2) the number, type, and geographic distribution of communities assisted under this Act, (3) measurable outcomes—including increased application completion rates and award success—of measures taken under this Act, and (4) recommendations for improving the framework for delivery of technical assistance activities under this Act. The section further requires the Secretary to make the report publicly available on the Department of Agriculture website.

This section defines 11 terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) eligible entity (i.e., a unit of local government, parish, or Tribal government; nonprofit organization; rural electric or telephone cooperative; institution of higher education; private-sector firm with experience in rural development or infrastructure projects; or State or territory cooperative extension service); (2) high-need area (i.e., area with high poverty or unemployment rates, population loss, inadequate infrastructure or services, or limited capacity to compete for federal assistance, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture); (3) high-need community; (4) land-grant institution; (5) low-capacity community (i.e., rural community with a population of 20,000 or fewer or lacking full-time grant-writing or administrative staff); (6) persistent poverty area (i.e., county or equivalent with 20% or more of the population in poverty for 30 years); (7) rural area (as defined in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act); (8) Rural Development (i.e., USDA mission area including Rural Utilities Service, Rural Business–Cooperative Service, and Rural Housing Service); and others.