H.R. 9101

[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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