S. 2618: MORE USDA Grants Act

More Opportunities for Rural Economies from USDA Grants Act or the MORE USDA Grants Act

This bill expands access to qualifying Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant programs for local governments or tribal governments located within a high-density public land county. Under the bill, these are counties (1) that have a population of not more than 100,000 people, and (2) where the federal government owns or manages more than 50% of the land.

Qualifying USDA grant programs include the Rural Business Development Grants, the Community Facilities grant program, the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants program, and other specified grant programs administered by USDA rural development agencies or by USDA.

Under the bill, any requirement for local matching funds under a qualifying grant program must be reduced by 50% for a local government or tribal government within a high-density public land county.

On request, USDA must provide additional technical assistance to these local governments or tribal governments before and during the annual application period for each qualifying grant program.

Further, USDA must prioritize grant applications from these local governments and tribal governments that have not received support in the previous 10 years under the qualifying grant program.

For qualifying grant programs, USDA may also provide additional application support for these local governments or tribal governments. Support may include offering flexibility in meeting certain application requirements or addressing a barrier to applying for or receiving assistance, such as flexibility related to financial requirements or application scoring criteria.