“To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to reauthorize and expand the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy grant program.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section reauthorizes the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) grant program—which supports eligible rural partnerships in accelerating high-wage job creation and economic development through training, networking, and related services—with $50 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030. The section revises program definitions and requirements by (1) eliminating the "industry cluster" definition and most related references, broadening the eligible entity's focus to industry clusters representing "existing, emerging, or declining industries in the area served by the partnership" (from those "objectively identified as existing, emerging, or declining"); (2) removing the requirement that a partnership's region be large enough to contain critical elements of an industry cluster; (3) adding definitions of "high-wage job" (i.e., wage greater than the median for the region, as determined by USDA) and "jobs accelerator" (i.e., center or program in low-income rural communities providing co-working space, skills training, entrepreneurship support, or similar services); and (4) directing USDA to target grants to a broad base of rural communities (with emphasis on populations under 20,000) and reserve at least 10% of annual grants for communities with populations under 10,000. The section further modifies grant selection by requiring USDA to ensure diverse industry bases are represented, select recipients only with concurrence from the relevant state rural development office, and prioritize high-wage job creation and sustained economic activity. (Thus, the changes broaden eligibility beyond narrow industry clusters, emphasize smaller and lower-income rural areas, and strengthen state-level coordination.) It also makes conforming changes to grant uses, reporting, and a cross-reference in another statute.