{ "id": "R46235", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R46235", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 617694, "date": "2020-02-20", "retrieved": "2020-02-21T23:15:02.455961", "title": "Rural Development Provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334)", "summary": "The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) Rural Development agency (RD) administers programs to support rural infrastructure and economic development. This includes programs focused on rural housing, rural business development, rural water and energy infrastructure, and, more recently, rural broadband deployment. Congress considers reauthorizing these programs in periodic omnibus farm bills. In December 2018, President Trump signed the 2018 farm bill (Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334) into law. This legislation reauthorizes and amends RD programs, establishes new rural development programs and initiatives, and repeals other programs.\nEconomic trends and social issues prevalent in rural America during the drafting of a farm bill typically influence the law\u2019s rural development provisions. Issues that influenced the rural development provisions of the 2018 farm bill include:\nrural population decline;\nthe changing nature of rural employment, especially the decline in agriculture and manufacturing employment;\nrural health challenges, including an increasing number of rural hospital closures and increasing rates of drug overdose deaths related to opioids;\naging rural infrastructure and a lack of access to broadband internet in rural areas; and\na shift among some scholars and policymakers toward regional approaches to rural economic development. \nThe 2018 farm bill establishes new rural development programs and initiatives. Among the new provisions, the law directs USDA to temporarily prioritize funding under certain rural development programs for projects that address substance use disorder. It also authorizes USDA to make similar temporary prioritizations in the future, to respond to public health disruptions in rural areas. P.L. 115-334 also establishes a new rural broadband program to finance middle mile infrastructure\u2014infrastructure that connects a local network to the internet backbone. The law also authorizes a new grant program to support high-wage jobs and new businesses in rural areas. P.L. 115-334 directs USDA to establish Tribal Promise Zones, which are to receive priority consideration for certain federal grant programs. Other new rural development provisions relate to broadband deployment, precision agriculture, and rural community development. \nP.L. 115-334 reauthorizes and amends a number of existing rural development programs. It adds a grant component to the Rural Broadband Access Loan Program and increases the authorization of appropriations from $25 million to $350 million per year for FY2019-FY2023. To be eligible for newly authorized grants, at least 90% of households in a service area must lack access to sufficient broadband service. The law also amends eligibility criteria for program loans, raising the percentage of households in an eligible service area that must lack access to sufficient broadband service from 15% to 50% of households. P.L. 115-334 codifies the Community Connect Grant Program and authorizes appropriations of $50 million per year for FY2019-FY2023. It also increases the authorizations of appropriations for the Emergency and Imminent Community Water Assistance Program, the Rural Decentralized Water Systems Program (formerly the Household Well Water Systems Program), and water and wastewater technical assistance and training programs. The law also amends the Cushion of Credit Program to terminate deposit authority and incrementally reduce the interest rate that accrues to borrowers.\nP.L. 115-334 amends certain definitions of rural used to determine eligibility for RD programs. It amends the definition of rural for certain housing and broadband programs to exclude incarcerated populations and the first 1,500 people residing on a military base. It also increases to 50,000 the maximum population of communities eligible for guaranteed loans under the Community Facilities and Water and Waste Disposal programs. The law reestablishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development as a permanent position within USDA, subject to Senate confirmation. USDA had eliminated the position in 2017 and replaced it with the Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, a position that did not require Senate confirmation. The 2018 farm bill also repeals the Rural Telephone Bank and grants to rural broadcasting systems, among other programs.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R46235", "sha1": "0e5185a8b55703ba5b67bc691a6a339c6baa59e4", "filename": "files/20200220_R46235_0e5185a8b55703ba5b67bc691a6a339c6baa59e4.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46235_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200220_R46235_images_6d89708a8a46bad996374c0ee967bf91ff962dcf.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46235_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200220_R46235_images_ab84936ba258395146b390a9fcc428ab9fcb3877.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R46235", "sha1": "f87042be8bba07f6e356f50fa3e1ac7f6521ca24", "filename": "files/20200220_R46235_f87042be8bba07f6e356f50fa3e1ac7f6521ca24.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4770, "name": "Conservation & Natural Resources" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4830, "name": "Agriculture Budget & Appropriations" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4871, "name": "Telecommunications & Internet Policy" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Agricultural Policy", "Appropriations", "Science and Technology Policy" ] }