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H.R. 1951

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.R. 1951, the Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act, was introduced in the House on Mar 6, 2025 by Rep. Josh Riley (D) with 2 co-sponsors. It was referred to Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development, and last saw action on Mar 28, 2025: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.

Record

Text

H.R. 1951 has 2 co-sponsors.

hb1951/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 1951 IH: Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-03-06
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 1951  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   March 6, 2025   Mr. Riley of New York  (for himself and  Mr. Valadao ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Agriculture    A BILL
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to reauthorize rural cooperative development grants.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act  .
2.
Reauthorization of rural cooperative development grants
Section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1932(e) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following:
(C)
Cooperative development
The term  cooperative development  means activities including outreach, education, training, and technical assistance, to support the startup, expansion, or ongoing sustainability of new and existing cooperatives.
 ;
(2)
in paragraph (4), by inserting  , and award maximum points in scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy the requirements of paragraph (5)(F),  before  if the plan ;
(3)
in paragraph (5), by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following:
(D)
commit to providing technical assistance and other services to socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities;
 ;
(4)
in paragraph (6)(B), by striking  If the Secretary determines it to be in the best interest of the program, the  and inserting  The ;
(5)
in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the following:  The Secretary shall analyze the data resulting from the research, and include the data and the analysis in the annual report submitted by the interagency working group under paragraph (12). ;
(6)
in paragraph (12), by adding at the end the following:  Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this sentence and annually thereafter, the interagency working group shall submit to the Congress a report describing the activities carried out by the working group. ; and
(7)
in paragraph (13), by striking  2014 through 2023  and inserting  2025 through 2029 .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-03-06
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Mar 6, 2025

hb1951/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (03/06/2025)

Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act

This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and modifies the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) Program. This Department of Agriculture (USDA) program provides grants to nonprofit institutions to help individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses through Rural Cooperative Development Centers.

USDA must give preference to grants that commit to providing technical assistance and other services to socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities. Under current law, USDA must give preference to underserved and economically distressed areas in rural areas.

In addition, USDA may give an additional preference to applications that commit to providing a 25% matching contribution for the center with private funds and in-kind contributions. Specifically, USDA may award the maximum points in application scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy this requirement.

Under the bill, cooperative development includes activities (e.g., outreach, education, training, and technical assistance) to support the startup, expansion, or ongoing sustainability of new and existing cooperatives. Current law does not define cooperative development.

The bill directs the RCDG interagency working group to submit an annual report to Congress on its activities.

Finally, the program currently includes cooperative research program requirements to collect data on the effects of all types of cooperatives on the national economy. Under the bill, USDA must analyze the data resulting from the research and include the data and analysis in the annual report to Congress.

Sponsors

Rep. Josh Riley (D) sponsors H.R. 1951, and 2 members have co-sponsored it, 1 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 1951 went before 2 committees: Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee and Agriculture.

Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee
Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee
Referred to · Mar 28, 2025 · 46 Bills
Agriculture
Agriculture
Referred To · Mar 6, 2025 · 226 Bills

Actions

H.R. 1951 has taken 3 actions since Mar 6, 2025, the latest on Mar 28, 2025.

ChamberAction
Mar 28, 2025
House
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee
Mar 6, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Mar 6, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.Agriculture Committee

Votes

H.R. 1951 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

H.R. 1951 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act — Display Title
  • Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to reauthorize rural cooperative development grants. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

1 client hired 1 firm and 6 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 1951 in 7 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Agriculture, Banking, Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace, Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Telecommunications, Trade (domestic/foreign), Utilities.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
COBANK ACB—Colorado17—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
COBANK, ACB17—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
ALDYN ABELL117
BRIAN CAVEY117
LAUREN STURGEON117
SHAWN CAMPBELL116
SHAWN COBANK115
KATHERINE LATOUR112

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2025 second_quarter$320K2nd Quarter - Report
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2025 fourth_quarter$310K4th Quarter - Amendme…
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2026 second_quarter$300K2nd Quarter - Report
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2025 first_quarter$290K1st Quarter - Report
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2025 fourth_quarter$280K4th Quarter - Report
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2025 third_quarter$280K3rd Quarter - Report
COBANK ACBCOBANK, ACB2026 first_quarter$240K1st Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 1951 under Agriculture and Food, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 1951’s is Agriculture and Food.

hr1951/policy-areas.txt
Agriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 1951, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 43 (Thursday, March 6, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. RILEY of New York:H.R. 1951.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I Section VIII[Page H1040]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com