Order Code RL34126
Rural Development and the 2007 Farm Bill
August 10, 2007
Tadlock Cowan
Analyst in Rural and Regional Development Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division

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Rural Development and the 2007 Farm Bill
Summary
Congress has expressed its concern with rural communities most directly
through periodic omnibus farm bill legislation, most recently in the 2002 Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of (P.L. 107-171, the 2002 farm bill) and in the
House-passed version of the pending 2007 farm bill (H.R. 2419). Congress uses
periodic farm bills to address emerging rural issues as well as to reauthorize and/or
amend a wide range of rural programs administered by USDA’s three rural
development mission agencies: Rural Housing Service, Rural Business-Cooperative
Service, and Rural Utilities Service.
Title VI of H.R. 2419 considers a wide range of policy issues concerning rural
America. In the 2002 farm bill, these issues included provisions such as equity
capital development in rural areas, regional economic planning and development,
essential community facilities, infrastructure needs, value-added agricultural
development, and broadband telecommunications development. H.R. 2419, as
passed by the House on July 27, considers similar issues as well as several new ones
such as grants to improve technical infrastructure of rural health care facilities,
expanding broadband access in rural areas, and creating new entrepreneurial capacity
in rural communities with a Microenterprise Grants program.
Several programs authorized with mandatory spending in the 2002 farm bill
are reauthorized with discretionary funding (Rural Firefighters and Emergency
Personnel, Rural Strategic Investment Program, and the Access to Broadband
Services in Rural Areas). The Value-Added Grants Program, similarly authorized
in the 2002 farm bill, is also reauthorized by H.R. 2419 with $150 million of
mandatory funding over five years. Other discretionary programs (e.g., water and
waste disposal grants, technical assistance for rural water systems, emergency
community water assistance, business opportunity grants, water assistance to Native
villages in Alaska, community facilities for Tribal colleges, distance learning and
telemedicince) are also reauthorized and/or amended through FY2012.
The bill also directs the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake several analytical
studies and submit reports. These include (1) a report on the various definitions of
“rural” used by USDA in providing assistance, (2) a comprehensive strategy for rural
broadband, and (3) a study of railroad issues regarding the movement of agricultural
products and railway impacts on rural economic development.
This report provides background information on rural development issues and
discusses the current provisions in the rural development title of the House-passed
2007 farm bill and other rural development proposals. Comparison of the rural
development provisions of H.R. 2419 with those of the 2002 farm bill is also
provided in a summary table.
The report will be updated regularly.

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Contents
Background and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Issues Influencing the Rural Development Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Current Federal Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Recent Congressional Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
House-Passed 2002 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Senate Agriculture Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Administration’s Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Other Selected Legislative Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act of 2007 (H.R. 1551/Kind
and S. 919/ Menendez) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Rural Opportunities Act of 2007 (S. 541/Feingold) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rural Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance Act (S. 566/
B. Nelson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Farm, Nutrition and Community Investment Act (H.R. 2144/
DeLauro and S. 1424/Schumer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rural Broadband Initiative Act of 2007 (H.R. 2174/Salazar
and S. 1032/Clinton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rural Broadband Improvement Act of 2007 (S. 1439/Roberts) . . . . . 10
Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
List of Tables
Table 1: Comparison of Major Rural Development Provisions in the Farm,
Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419) with Provisions in the
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171) . . . . . . . 11

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Rural Development and the 2007 Farm Bill
Background and Overview
While farm commodity issues may occupy center stage in policy discussions of
the periodic omnibus farm bills, rural community and economic development are also
topics of congressional concern and a separate title within the farm bill. Since 1973,
omnibus farm bills have included a rural development title, the most recent being
Title VI of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171).
Positioning rural areas to better compete in a global economic environment is one of
the key issues framing the current debate about the future of rural America. When
agricultural production and related businesses dominated rural economies, policies
that strengthened and improved agriculture tended to strengthen and improve the
well-being of most of America’s small communities and rural residents. As the
strength of this linkage has declined, the need for new sources of rural economic
development has become more apparent to policymakers and rural development
practitioners.
Congressional interest in rural policy encompasses a wide range of issues,
including agriculture, forestry, and mining, community infrastructure, natural
resource conservation and management, bioenergy and economic development.
Current challenges to and reform of existing federal rural policies are evolving in an
environment of increasing concern about economic competitiveness, a shift away
from agriculture toward manufacturing and services, new federal political strategies,
and the emergence of new political interests in farm bill deliberations. A changing
rural America is also producing pressures for different policies and raising new
questions about what Congress’s role should be in shaping rural policy.
Both agriculture and manufacturing issues are increasingly seen as part of global
and regional restructuring issues, which have significant implications for rural areas,
especially those areas where these production sectors remain dominant. Today,
nearly 90% of total farm household income comes from off-farm sources.1
Manufacturing now accounts for about 25% of rural private sector earnings and about
12% of all rural jobs. The service sector, as with the U.S. domestic economy as a
whole, now dominates the rural labor market, although the rural service sector differs
from the metropolitan service sector in terms of job categories, skills, and wages.
The rural development title of past farm bills generally has supported (1) the
infrastructure of rural areas, with traditional support for housing, electrical generation
and transmission, water and waste water, and community capacity, (2) agricultural
1 This figure reflects the significant proportion of small, “life-style” farms whose owners are
not primarily involved in production agriculture. For those farms where agricultural
production is central to the household’s income, the proportion of off-farm income is less.

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development, and (3) rural business creation and expansion. More recently,
policymakers have pushed for programs that support innovative and alternative
business development, and innovative mechanisms to finance it. Pressure for such
alternative approaches is expected to continue as policymakers recognize the
changing structure of agriculture and the great diversity among rural communities,
with some rural areas growing and prospering, and others falling further behind as
their primary industries (including agriculture) either decline or adapt to a global
economy. Such adaptation and dislocation over the past decade has often meant
fewer rural employment opportunities and significant population outmigration for
many rural communities.
To emphasize the importance of agricultural production in the local economies
that still characterizes many rural areas, legislative proposals are being circulated that
promote technologies to help farmers with planting decisions and local investments
in industries that will add value to their products, among others. Research is also
increasingly focused on improvements in agricultural waste management and
environmental protections. Traditional strategies, notably value-added agriculture
(e.g., regional food processing plants, cooperatives, organic farming, biofuels) are
being promoted by many in the farm sector. While holding promise for agriculture
and surrounding communities, there remain limits on the extent to which agriculture
and other mature industries can become a significant engine for renewed rural
economic prosperity.
While commodity policy dominates much of the debate and most of the funding,
production agriculture remains a comparatively small and shrinking part of the rural
economy, with less than 8% of the rural population employed in agriculture. There
is growing recognition that farmers in many rural areas depend more on a healthy
rural economy than the rural economy is dependent on farmers for its vitality. The
need to strengthen the capacity of rural areas more generally to compete in a global
economy is becoming more widely appreciated as the limitations of commodity
subsidies, peripheral manufacturing, and physical infrastructure as mainstays of rural
development policy become more obvious.
Issues Influencing the Rural Development Title
Emerging policy issues surround the question of whether current farm policies,
which rely heavily on commodity support payments and subsidies to a few
production sectors, help, hinder, or have little impact on the future development of
economically viable rural communities. Rural manufacturing, which tends to be
lower-skilled and lower-waged, is also undergoing restructuring with the loss of
manufacturing to foreign competition. While transformation to a service economy
continues in rural America, service employment in many rural areas tends to be in
lower-wage personal services rather than business and producer services. Continuing
population and economic decline in many farming and rural areas is compelling
policymakers and rural areas to create new sources of competitive advantage,
innovative ways of providing public services to sparse populations, and new ways of
integrating agriculture into changing rural economies.

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More recently, economic development efforts in some areas have targeted
various entrepreneurial strategies. These approaches attempt to capitalize on a
particular area’s distinctive social, economic, and environmental assets and
advantages to build endogenously on existing strengths. Developing a local
entrepreneurial culture seems to be an important approach in these efforts’ successes.
Linking public and private sources to build “business incubators” is a common
strategy, as is developing new commercial ties with area colleges and universities.
Communities are also applying such entrepreneurial energy to making their local
governments, schools, and hospitals more efficient through, for example,
telecommunication innovations.
The trends noted above suggest a range of issues potentially affecting the rural
development title of the 2007 farm bill that may include the following.
! Conservation and environmental restoration as rural
employment opportunities
! Stemming rural population out-migration

! Vertical integration and coordination of agriculture into
supply networks and their implication for rural areas

! Developing rural entrepreneurial capacity

! Rebuilding an aging rural physical infrastructure

! Public service delivery innovations in
sparsely
populated areas

! Increasing suburbanization and the conflicts between
agriculture and suburban development

! Human capital deficiencies in rural areas

! Regional-based efforts for economic development

! Connecting businesses and rural communities with
broadband telecommunications infrastructure
The rural development title of the 2007 farm bill is taking shape against this
backdrop of shifts in the rural economy, widespread and long-term poverty in some
rural areas, outmigration in other rural areas, dwindling economic opportunity in
rural areas, gaps in critical infrastructure, and a growing appreciation in many
quarters of the limits of existing rural development programs to respond to the great
diversity of rural places and socioeconomic circumstances. Such issues give rise to
several policy relevant questions.
! How effective are current federal programs in improving the
competitive position of rural areas?
! Can broad-based federal rural programs be better targeted to the
critical needs of particular rural areas?
! How might regional funding approaches be better integrated into
federal policy for rural areas?
! How can federal policies better assist entrepreneurial efforts in rural
communities?

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! How might the biofuels emphasis in the upcoming farm bill be
connected to rural development programs?
Current Federal Programs
More than 88 programs administered by 16 different federal agencies target rural
economic development. The Rural Development Policy Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-355),
however, named USDA as the lead federal agency for rural development. USDA
administers most of the existing rural development programs and has the highest
average of program funds going directly to rural counties (approximately 50%).2
Three agencies are responsible for USDA’s rural development mission area: the
Rural Housing Service (RHS), the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), and
the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). An Office of Community Development provides
community development support through Rural Development’s field offices.
It is important to note that most loan and grant programs administered by USDA
Rural Development are funded through annual (discretionary) appropriations. The
rural development title of omnibus farm bills does not address every program
administered by the three USDA mission agencies. These various programs are
“permanently” authorized, often through amendments to the Consolidated Farm and
Rural Development Act of 1972 (the ConAct, P.L. 87-128) or the Rural
Electrification Act of 1936 and are funded through annual appropriations. The 1996
farm bill (P.L. 104-127) authorized the first provision in the rural development title
funded by mandatory spending, the Fund for Rural America, which expired in 2002.
The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) authorized six new programs supported through
mandatory spending. Mandatory funding for most of these programs, however, was
largely blocked by appropriators between 2002 and 2007. Several of the programs
were funded instead through discretionary appropriations, although in amounts less
than the original authorization.
Recent Congressional Activity
House-Passed 2002 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419). The House approved the
Farm Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419) on July 27, 2007, which
includes a rural development title (Title VI). Many of the programs authorized in the
2002 farm bill are reauthorized in H.R. 2419. Appendix A provides a side-by-side
comparison of the current 2002 provisions with the House-passed provisions. Unlike
the 2002 farm bill, the rural development provisions of H.R. 2419 contain only one
mandatory funded program (Value-added Product Grants). However, several
programs that were authorized to receive mandatory funding in the 2002 farm bill
were reauthorized in H.R. 2419 with discretionary funding (e.g., the Rural Strategic
Investment Program and the Rural Firefighters and Emergency Medical Personnel
Program).
2 More information on individual USDA Rural Development programs can be found in CRS
Report RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural Development Programs.

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Concerns about how effectively USDA targets its rural development loan and
grant assistance has been a recurring consideration by policymakers and rural
development practitioners. The general concern is that rural development funding
may not be targeted to the neediest rural communities because of the way rural is
defined. Section 6001 of H.R. 2419 would direct the Secretary to assess the varying
definitions of “rural” used by USDA and to describe the effects these different
definitions have on USDA Rural Development programs. The provision directs the
Secretary to make recommendations for ways to better target rural development
funds. This provision is related to Section 6014 which directs the Secretary to review
income, population density, and seasonal population increases of eligible rural
communities when awarding loans and grants and to issue regulations that establish
applicable limitations on rural areas.
Other new provisions in the rural development title of H.R. 2419 include the
following programs.
! Section 6012 authorizes grants to improve technical infrastructure
and improve the quality of Rural Health Care Facilities. This
provision would establish a grant program to improve health care
delivery structures and health care quality in rural areas with
populations of less than 20,000 residents. Eligible facilities would
include rural clinics, federally qualified health centers, sole
community hospitals, and Medicare dependent hospitals.
Appropriated funding is authorized at $30 million annually for 2008
through 2012.
! Section 6013 authorizes a Rural Entrepreneur and
Microenterprise Assistance Program. A microenterprise is
defined as a sole proprietorship or a business with fewer than 10
full-time employees. The program would target economically
disadvantaged microentrepreneurs, i.e., those who could compete in
the private sector but have been impaired because of lack of credit
opportunities and limited equity capital options. Federal assistance
would be provided to microenterprise development organizations to
support the development of entrepreneurial activities in rural areas.
These qualified organizations would be required to match at least
25% of the federal grant. Appropriated funding is authorized at $20
million annually for 2008 through 2012.
! Section 6024 authorizes the Community Connect Grant program.
The program would provide grant assistance to eligible broadband
providers and give priority to financing broadband service that
delivers telemedicine and distance learning. Applicants would be
required to provide a 15% matching fee. Grants to support financing
duplicative service provided by another entity would be prohibited.
Appropriated funding is authorized at $25 million annually for 2008
through 2012.

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In addition to these newly authorized programs, the rural development title also
includes provisions to reauthorize and/or amend a wide variety of loan and grant
programs that provide further assistance in four key areas: (1) Broadband and
Telecommunications, (2) Regional Development, (3) Rural Utilities Infrastructure,
and (4) Business and Community Development.
Broadband and Telecommunications
! Section 6023 reauthorizes the Access to Broadband
Telecommunications Services in Rural Areas. The program was
originally authorized in the 2002 farm bill (Section 6103) and
funded by mandatory authorization. Its effectiveness, however, has
been limited by difficulties in implementation. Section 6022 makes
changes in defining eligible rural communities, makes provisions for
prioritizing loans, permits loans to be amortized up to 35 years, and
reduces equity requirement on broadband providers offering service
to unserved areas. Loans are prohibited for any community with 3
or more broadband service providers. The provision further
authorizes the Secretary to designate a National Center for Rural
Telecommunications Assessment and authorizes discretionary
funding at $1 million annually.
! Section 6028 authorizes assistance for Rural Public Television
Stations to support their transition from analog to digital
equipment.
! Section 6029 reauthorizes the Distance Learning and
Telemedicine Loan and Grant Program, which provides funding
to educational and medical facilities.
! Section 6031 authorizes a Comprehensive Rural Broadband
Strategy. The provision directs the Secretary of Agriculture to
develop a comprehensive strategy for enhancing broadband service
to rural areas.
Rural Utilities Infrastructure
! Section 6002 reauthorizes Water, Waste Disposal and Wastewater
Facility Grants through 2012. Discretionary funding is provided
under the utilities account of Rural Community Advancement
Program (RCAP). This is the largest program in the RCAP
portfolio.
! Section 6004 reauthorizes the Rural Water and Wastewater
Circuit Rider Program, which provides technical assistance to
rural water systems. Funding is authorized at $25 million annually.
! Section 6006 reauthorizes the Emergency and Imminent
Community Water Assistance Grant Program, which provides

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funding to rural communities facing threats to the provision of
potable water. It is funded under the utilities account of RCAP.
! Section 6007 reauthorizes Water Systems for Rural and Native
Villages in Alaska. This provision targets funding under the
utilities account of RCAP for Alaskan native communities.
! Section 6008 reauthorizes grants to nonprofit organizations for the
construction and refurbishing of household water well systems.
The program targets well systems for low-income individuals in
rural areas.
Business and Community Development
! Section 6003 reauthorizes Rural Business Opportunity Grants,
which are used for economic planning and technical support and
training for rural businesses.
! Section 6005 reauthorizes Tribal College and University Essential
Community Facilities through 2012. This program targets funding
under the Community Facilities Program, an RCAP account, to
tribal facilities. Essential facilities include those that support public
safety infrastructure and provide community health care.
! Section 6009 reauthorizes Rural Cooperative Development
Grants. This provision permits multi-year grants (up to three years)
for awards to rural cooperative centers. Section 6009 would further
provide a 20% set-aside for rural centers working with socially
disadvantaged communities when the appropriation level exceeds
$7.5 million, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct
research on the national economic impact of cooperatives.
! Section 6010 establishes criteria to be applied in making loans under
the Business and Industry Loan Program. The provision would
prioritize loan guarantees for rural food enterprise entrepreneurs that
process and distribute food locally and regionally.

! Section 6011 reauthorizes the Appropriate Technology Transfer
for Rural Areas Program (ATTRA). The program supports a
cooperative agreement between the Rural Business-Cooperative
Service and the University of Arkansas to provide information and
technical support for sustainable and organic agricultural production.
The provision authorizes $5 million annually.
! Section 6026 reauthorizes the Rural Firefighters and Emergency
Medical Service Assistance Program. Originally authorized by the
2002 farm bill, the measure provides grants to enable entities to
provide improved emergency medical assistance in rural areas. It
also provides grants to pay the cost of training emergency personnel

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to respond to hazardous materials and bioagents in rural areas.
Unlike the 2002 farm bill, which provided mandatory funding, the
provision is authorized for discretionary funding up to $30 million
annually.
! Section 6027 reauthorizes the Value-Added Agricultural Market
Development Program. The provision targets funding for “mid-tier
value chains” which are local and regional supply networks linking
independent producers with businesses and cooperatives. It also
reserves 10% of the Value-Added Products Grants for projects
benefitting beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers and
ranchers. Funding is authorized at $30 million annually in
mandatory spending from the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Regional Development
! Section 6019 reauthorizes the Delta Regional Authority, a
federal-state partnership serving a 240-county/parish area in an
eight-state region of the Mississippi delta.
! Section 6020 reauthorizes the Northern Great Plains Regional
Authority (NGPRA), which covers Iowa, North and South Dakota,
Minnesota, and Nebraska. The provision eliminates prioritization of
activities to be funded by the program and eliminates the
requirement that 75% of the Authority’s funding go to “distressed
counties and isolated areas.”
! Section 6032 directs the Secretary of Agriculture in coordination
with the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study of railroad
issues regarding the movement of agricultural products, renewable
fuels, and economic development in rural America.
Senate Agriculture Committee. The Senate Agriculture Committee is
currently preparing its version of the rural development title. Committee mark-up
is expected in mid-September. Several bills in the Senate with provisions relevant
to rural development are noted below.
The Administration’s Proposal
The Administration proposes three major provisions in its rural development
title: (1) $1.6 billion in loan guarantees and $5 million for grants to upgrade 1,238
rural Critical Access Hospitals; (2) $500 million to reduce the backlog of rural
development loan and grant applications; and (3) the consolidation of various rural
development legislative authorities into four platforms, one for rural business loans,
one for rural business grants, one for rural community programs, and a multi-
departmental energy grants platform. The Administration’s rural development
proposal would also give priority to specialty crops in the Value-Added Product
Grants program, while the energy grants platform would invest $210 million in

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subsides for $2.17 billion in loan guarantees over 10 years for cellulosic ethanol
facilities. Each of these programs would be funded by annual appropriations.
Other Selected Legislative Proposals

Biofuels and alternative energy development are regarded by many current
observers of farm bill legislation as important new sources of rural economic
development. Most legislative proposals addressing rural development issues seek
to amend and/or extend existing provisions in the 2002 farm bill. In some cases,
however, there may be overlap between the rural development and the bioenergy or
conservation or other titles within an individual bill. This overlap, however, is often
intended to target economic development or assistance to rural communities. While
the bills noted below in some cases were not considered by the House Agriculture
Committee, as the Senate develops its version of the farm bill, some of these
proposals may become provisions of its rural development title.
The Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act of 2007 (H.R. 1551/Kind
and S. 919/ Menendez). In addition to proposing bioenergy and biorefinery
development in rural areas, the bill also proposes linking conservation objectives to
economic development efforts through its Cooperative Conservation Partnership
Initiative. The bill would reauthorize the Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems
program, at $710 million for FY2008-2012. This program is administered by the
Rural Business-Cooperative Service. The bill would also reauthorize Value-Added
Products Grants, which have provided support for bioenergy development in addition
to other commodity-based projects.
The Rural Opportunities Act of 2007 (S. 541/Feingold). The bill
proposes several measures for bioenergy development, including $1 million funding
for Supplemental Rural Cooperative Grants to support bioenergy and to develop bio-
based product cooperatives, as well as reauthorizing the Appropriate Technology
Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) at $5 million annually to support education and
technical assistance for sustainable agriculture. Also, S. 541 proposes several
measures to enhance rural access to broadband service (Section 6). The bill would
also reauthorize Section 9006 of the 2002 farm bill, providing the program $40
million per year FY2008-2012.
Rural Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance Act (S. 566/ B.
Nelson). The measure would provide loans to small businesses and promote rural
job creation based on a proposal promoted by the Center for Rural Affairs. Its
provisions are very similar to Section 6013 of H.R. 2419, the Rural Entrepreneur and
Microenterprise Assistance Program, described earlier in the House Committee’s
farm bill.
The Farm, Nutrition and Community Investment Act (H.R.
2144/DeLauro and S. 1424/Schumer). The bill supports innovative agricultural
programs that could contribute to new sources of economic development. It contains
provisions for biofuels development, including the provision of not requiring that the
producer-owned facility be located in a rural area to be eligible for various rural
development loan and grant programs. It also would create a farm and ranch

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Profitability Grant Program for marketing development and increasing farm viability
and diversification. It would authorize a grants programs that would permit eligible
entities (e.g., producers, local and regional governmental bodies, agricultural
cooperatives, non-profit organizations, research institutions) to undertake the
following.

! Provide marketing or business development assistance to producers
! Promote new or value-added product development or differentiation;
! Encourage direct-to-consumer market opportunities
! Foster agricultural economic development through development of
agricultural processing facilities or other infrastructure;
! Expand access to healthy foods
! Provide food safety training
! Match state funding for farm viability programs; recreational walk-in
or access programs; encourage profitable business models and
develop alternative ownership structures
! Increase consumer awareness of local and state products
! Provide direct grants to producers for farm infrastructure or
equipment needs that add value or allow for transition to a new
agricultural product
! Provide technical, legal and other support to beginning and/or
socially disadvantaged farmers
! Enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops
Rural Broadband Initiative Act of 2007 (H.R. 2174/Salazar and S.
1032/Clinton). This measure would establish an Office of Rural Broadband
Initiatives within USDA. It would also create a National Rural Broadband
Innovation Fund in the U.S. Treasury to be used for funding experimental and pilot
rural broadband projects and applications, including WiFi, WiMAX, DSL, cable,
satellite, fiber, optical fiber, and broadband delivery over power lines.
Rural Broadband Improvement Act of 2007 (S. 1439/Roberts). This
measure amends the loan and loan guarantee program under title VI of the Rural
Electrification Act of 1936 and has similar provisions as Section 6023 of the House-
passed farm bill. The bill has other provisions that would specify loan securities,
accelerate the loan application process, and create a grant program to develop and
implement statewide initiatives to identify and track the availability and adoption of
broadband services within eligible rural areas.

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Appendix A
Table 1: Comparison of Major Rural Development Provisions in
the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419) with
Provisions in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of
2002 (P.L. 107-171)
Current Law (Title VI of 2002 Farm Bill,
Title VI Sections, Farm, Nutrition, and
P.L. 107-171) )
Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419)
Rural Infrastructure
Rural areas are defined as any area other than
Directs Secretary of Agriculture to assess
an area with 50,000 more in population and
varying definitions of “rural” used by USDA
its adjacent and contiguous urban areas.
(Section 6001). Also elaborates demographic
and income criteria to be applied in considering
applications for rural development projects
(Section 6014).
Appropriation authority through 2007 for
Reauthorizes Water/Waste Disposal grants
loans and grants for communities of 10,000
through 2012(Section 6002).
or less that are unable to get commercial
credit to build or improve community water
and waste water systems.
Appropriation authority for Water/Waste
Reauthorizes Water/Waste Water Circuit Rider
Water Circuit Rider Program. Program is a
Program through 2012 (Section 6004).
technical assistance program based on the
circuit rider program of the National Rural
Water Association.
Grants to Nonprofit Organizations to
Reauthorizes through 2012 grants to Nonprofit
Construct and Refurbish Individually-Owned
Organizations to Construct and Refurbish
Household Well-Water Systems. Eligible
Individually-Owned Household Well-Water
households must earn less than 100% of the
Systems (Section 6008).
median non-metro household income for the
state or territory. Limited to $8,000 per
household.
Authorizes appropriations through 2007 for
Reauthorizes Emergency and Imminent
Emergency and Imminent Community Water
Community Water Assistance Grants through
Assistance Grants. Grants to assist
2012.
communities in complying with Water
Pollution Control Act or Safe Drinking
Water Act. For communities of less than
10,000 population. Set-asides for
communities less than 3,000.
Authorizes appropriations through 2007 for
Reauthorizes Grants for Water Systems for
grants to Native Villages in Alaska for water
Rural and Native Villages in Alaska through
systems.
2012. (Section 6007).

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Current Law (Title VI of 2002 Farm Bill,
Title VI Sections, Farm, Nutrition, and
P.L. 107-171) )
Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419)
Business and Community Development
Authorizes appropriations through 2007 for
Section 6003: Reauthorizes Rural Business
Rural Business Opportunity Grants. Grants
Opportunity Grants through 2012 (Section
support business development/labor training
6003).
in rural areas.
Authorizes appropriations for direct and
Establishes new criteria for Business and
guaranteed loans to assist business
Industry loans. Gives priority to loans
development in rural areas.
supporting local and regionally produced
agricultural products. (Section 6010).
Authorizes appropriations for grants to
Reauthorizes and Amends Rural Cooperative
cooperative development centers.
Development Grants. To permit multi-year
funding (section 6009)
Authorizes a program with a third party
Section 6011: Reauthorizes and amends
entity (National Center for Appropriate
provision for the Appropriate Technology
Technology) to provide information and
Transfer for Rural Areas program (ATTRA) and
technical assistance on sustainable
provides $5 million annually.
agriculture.
No provision
Section 6012: Authorizes grants to improve the
technical infrastructure of rural health care
facilities. Provides $3 million annually.
No provision
Section 6013: Authorizes a Rural Entrepreneur
and Microenterprise Assistance Program.
Provides $20 million annually.
Authorizes a state-federal partnership of rural
Section 6016: Reauthorizes the National Rural
development agencies
Development Partnership.
Authorizes an equity generating program for
Section 6021: Amends the Rural Strategic
rural business development modeled on the
Investment Program to provide discretionary
Small Business Investment Companies of the
funding of not more than $25 million annually
Small Business Administration.
2008-2012.

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CRS-13
Current Law (Title VI of 2002 Farm Bill,
Title VI Sections, Farm, Nutrition, and
P.L. 107-171) )
Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419)
Authorizes various Broadband and
Section 6024: Authorizes the “Community
telecommunication technology programs to
Connect Grant Program” to provide broadband
serve rural areas.
service for enhanced education, public safety,
and health care.
Section 6023: Amends and reauthorizes
Enhancement of Access to Broadband Service
in Rural Areas. Redefines eligibility and
prioritizes loan applications.
Section 6031: Directs the Secretary to prepare a
report describing a comprehensive broadband
strategy.
Section 6018: Grants for National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio
Transmitters.
Section 6102: Expansion of 911 Access. Wider
access to 911 emergency telephone service.
Grants to Broadcasting Systems. Grants for
Section 6028: Assists rural public television
public television broadcasting in
stations in making the transition from analog to
predominantly rural areas.
digital broadcast equipment.
Provides loans and grants to schools and
Section 6029: Reauthorizes Telemedicine and
medical facilities for acquiring advanced
Distance Learning Services in Rural Areas.
telecommunication technologies to support
medical and educational functions in rural
areas.

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CRS-14
Current Law (Title VI of 2002 Farm Bill,
Title VI Sections, Farm, Nutrition, and
P.L. 107-171) )
Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419)
Regional Development
Authorizes a Delta Regional Authority
Section 6019: Authorizes appropriations for the
(DRA). Federal and state funding for 240
DRA through 2012.
distressed counties across 8 states in the
Mississippi Delta.
Authorizes a Northern Great Plains Regional
Section 6020: Reauthorizes and amends the
Authority to make grants and loans and
Northern Great Plains Regional Authority.
implement a regional development plan.
No Provision
Section 6012: Authorizes grants to improve
rural health care facilities.
Competitive grants to establish and operate
Section 6009: Reauthorizes Rural Cooperative
centers for rural cooperative development.
Development Grants to make multi-year funding
available to rural cooperative centers.
No Provision
Section 6032: Directs the Secretary to prepare a
report on railway issues in the transportation of
agricultural products and renewable fuels.
Authorizes a program to restore historic
Section 6023: Historic Barn Preservation
barns.
Program. To preserve barns eligible for
inclusion on the National Register of Historical
Places.
Authorizes a program for training emergency
Section 6026: Reauthorizes and amends the
personnel. Funded by mandatory spending.
Rural Firefighters and Emergency Personnel
Grant Program. Provides discretionary funding
of not more than $30 million annually.
Authorizes a grant program to support value-
Section 6027: Reauthorizes and amends the
added projects for agricultural commodities.
Value-Added Agricultural Product Market
Grants made to agricultural producers to add
Development Grants. Authorizes and reserves
value to their commodities. Provides new
funding for “mid-tier value chains.” Provides
definitions of value-added to include any
$20 million in mandatory funding annually from
process that increases the value of an
the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation.
agricultural product (e.g., organic
production).

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