# Plain Language Summary: MORE USDA Grants Act

This bill makes it easier for rural counties with lots of federal land to get money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Specifically, it targets counties where more than half the land is owned or managed by the federal government and have populations under 100,000 people. These are often isolated communities that struggle economically because so much of their land can't be developed or taxed. The bill also helps local governments and Native American tribes in these counties access the same USDA grants.

The main way the bill helps is by cutting the local money these communities have to put up to get federal grants in half. Normally, when a county or town applies for a USDA grant, they have to match part of the federal money with their own funds. This bill says communities in high-density federal land counties only have to match 50 percent of what's normally required. For a community with limited tax revenue, this makes a huge difference in whether they can afford to apply for grants for things like broadband internet, rural business development, or telemedicine services.

Beyond the matching funds reduction, the bill gives these communities extra help. The USDA must provide technical assistance to help them understand and complete grant applications. When applications are being reviewed, communities that haven't received this type of grant money in the past ten years get priority. The bill also tells the USDA to be flexible about other rules that might unfairly hurt small, isolated communities—like scoring systems that reward projects creating lots of jobs (which is hard for tiny towns) or requirements to partner with colleges that don't exist nearby.

MORE USDA Grants Act

Maloy, Celeste

More Opportunities for Rural Economies from USDA Grants Act or the MORE USDA Grants Act This bill revises the process for awarding grants under certain programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to high-density public land counties and any units of tribal or local governments within such counties. A high-density public land county is a county that has a population of not more than 100,000 people and in which more than 50% of the land is owned or managed by the federal government. Any requirement for local matching funds under a qualifying grant program must be reduced by 50% with respect to such jurisdictions. On request, USDA must provide additional technical assistance to such jurisdictions before and during the annual application period for each qualifying grant program. USDA must also prioritize grant applications from such jurisdictions that have not received support under the qualifying grant program during the 10-year period preceding the date of the application.