HouseH.R. 9101119th Congress
Rural Grants Transparency Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9101 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9101
To improve transparency, accessibility, and accountability in the
administration of rural development grant programs at the Department of
Agriculture, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 2, 2026
Ms. Letlow introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve transparency, accessibility, and accountability in the
administration of rural development grant programs at the Department of
Agriculture, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Grants Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Rural communities often lack staff capacity and
technical expertise to navigate complex Federal grant programs.
(2) Applicants routinely report difficulty understanding
eligibility for, application steps for, timelines under,
evaluation criteria under, and reasons for rejection from rural
development programs.
(3) Providing clear, consistent, and centralized
information improves access to such programs for small towns,
rural nonprofits, cooperatives, and persistent-poverty counties
and parishes.
(4) Increasing transparency in Federal grant processes can
be achieved without additional appropriations.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered program.--The term ``covered program'' means
any grant program administered by the Secretary of Agriculture
through Rural Development, including programs administered by--
(A) the Rural Utilities Service;
(B) the Rural Housing Service; or
(C) the Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
(2) Quarterly.--The term ``quarterly'' means not less
frequently than once every 90 days.
(3) Roadmap.--The term ``Roadmap'' means, with respect to a
covered program, the Rural Grant Transparency Roadmap developed
for the program under section 4.
(4) Rural development state office contact information.--
The term ``rural development State office contact information''
means, with respect to a covered program, to the appropriate
division or program contact within each State rural development
office that is responsible for administering the covered
program, and is not solely a general hotline or switchboard
number.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
SEC. 4. RURAL GRANT TRANSPARENCY ROADMAP.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall develop, publish, and
maintain a publicly accessible Rural Grant Transparency Roadmap for
each covered program.
(b) Required Components.--The Roadmap for a covered program shall
include--
(1) a plain-language description of the program;
(2) a step-by-step explanation of application requirements;
(3) a standardized checklist of materials required in
applications;
(4) in the case of a competitive program, a summary of the
evaluation criteria used under the program;
(5) common reasons for ineligibility for the program, or
rejection of an application;
(6) electronic links to forms and guidance documents;
(7) rural development State office contact information
relevant to the program; and
(8) a quarterly-updated list of open and upcoming funding
opportunities.
(c) Format and Accessibility.--The Roadmap for a covered program
shall--
(1) be accessible through a single, consolidated webpage on
the Rural Development website;
(2) be written in plain language suitable for small,
resource-limited rural communities; and
(3) be available in formats accessible to individuals with
disabilities in compliance with section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
(d) Limitations.--This Act shall not be interpreted to--
(1) require the Secretary to create new evaluation criteria
for any program; or
(2) alter eligibility, priorities, or requirements
established in statute or regulation.
(e) Updates.--The Secretary shall update the Roadmap quarterly and
revise component descriptions as necessary.
SEC. 5. STANDARDIZED GRANT APPLICATION NOTIFICATIONS.
(a) Requirement.--The Secretary shall provide each applicant to a
covered program with standardized notifications regarding--
(1) confirmation of receipt of the application;
(2) notice of completeness of, or deficiency in, the
application;
(3) notice of advancement of the application to review;
(4) a grant award or a denial of an application; and
(5) if an application is denied, information on whether the
applicant may reapply.
(b) Denial Explanation.--Each denial of an application submitted to
a covered program shall include--
(1) a plain-language summary of the evaluation criteria
most determinative to the outcome; and
(2) guidance on how to strengthen future submissions.
(c) Use of Existing Systems.--The Secretary shall provide
notifications under this section using existing electronic or
administrative systems, and this section shall not be interpreted to
require the development of new information technology systems.
SEC. 6. RURAL GRANT AWARD DATA ACCESSIBILITY.
(a) Database.--The Secretary shall maintain a publicly accessible,
searchable database of awards made under a covered program, updated
quarterly, containing--
(1) the name of the award recipient;
(2) the county or parish in which the awarded project is
located;
(3) the amount of the award;
(4) the name of the program and
(5) a brief description of the awarded project.
(b) Protection of Sensitive Information.--The Secretary may not
disclose, or authorize the disclosure of personally identifiable or
confidential business information under this Act.
(c) Use of Existing Resources.--The Secretary shall utilize
existing Department of Agriculture resources to carry out this section.
SEC. 7. PUBLICATION OF SCORING CRITERIA.
(a) Requirement.--For each competitive covered program, the
Secretary shall publish--
(1) all scoring factors;
(2) the weight assigned to each factor;
(3) tie-breaker rules; and
(4) any statutory or regulatory priority areas.
(b) Limitation.--This Act shall not be interpreted to authorize the
Secretary to create new scoring factors or modify existing statutory
requirements.
SEC. 8. TRAINING FOR STATE AND LOCAL USDA OFFICES.
(a) Annual Training.--The Secretary shall ensure that State,
parish, and county rural development offices receive annual training
on--
(1) the Rural Grant Transparency Roadmap for each covered
program;
(2) the common challenges faced by applicants for each
covered program; and
(3) the procedures for providing accurate, consistent
information to applicants for a covered program who are located
in a rural area.
(b) Use of Existing Resources.--This section shall be carried out
by existing personnel of the Department of Agriculture.
SEC. 9. NO ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.
This Act shall not be interpreted to authorize or require the
appropriation of any funds to carry out this Act.
SEC. 10. DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
The Secretary shall implement all requirements of this Act within
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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