Rural Area Population Act

This bill would create one definition of "rural area" for Department of Agriculture rural development programs, including rural electric, broadband, and housing programs, based on the definition in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. It would let the Secretary of Agriculture designate certain areas, such as census tracts or places with fewer than 35,000 people, as rural even if they are inside an urban area, if they have persistent poverty, many farmworker households, or lack basic water, wastewater, or electricity service. It would also require the Secretary to use census tract data to keep small settlements surrounded by urban areas eligible as rural if they lack urban services and have a poverty rate of at least 20 percent, including tribal lands and farmworker settlements. The changes would take effect 180 days after enactment, and existing rural designations would not change because of this bill before 2030 census data is available.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Raul Ruiz Democrat sponsor
• 0 cosponsors