# 119-hr-5796: BUILD Act

119-hr-5796, BUILD Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5796
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5796
- Congress: 119
- Title: BUILD Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-10-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Commerce
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would create a Distressed Communities Grant Program to provide _college-led economic revitalization grants_ for projects in economically distressed ZIP codes and counties.** The Secretary of Commerce would list qualifying institutions and approve planning and implementation grants based on submitted plans. - Colleges: Eligible institutions receive planning grants up to $100,000 per year for up to 2 years to develop an implementation plan. After plan approval they can receive implementation grants of $25 million to $50 million over a 5-year term. - Local communities and families: Funds must be used in the distressed community and can pay for housing, renovation of community-serving buildings, cultural institutions, or public health clinics that serve residents. - Workers and students: Grants can support apprenticeships, seed funding for early-stage small businesses, K-12 partnerships for graduate student teaching support, and campus-based programs that train local healthcare and other workers. - Infrastructure and research: Eligible projects include building municipal broadband for the institution and community and funding campus research tied to local economic needs. Certain high-research universities and federal service academies are excluded from eligibility.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4] (R-AR), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD), 2026-02-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Big grants for college-led local projects: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Commerce Department would fund colleges in distressed areas with two grants. Planning grants would be up to $100,000 per year for up to 2 years to write a local plan. Within 1 year of the first award, a college could ask for more planning money, and the agency would decide within 90…
- Who counts as a qualifying college: mixed, medium. This bill would set who can qualify. A college would need to offer more than 50% of its courses by correspondence and have at least 50% of students in correspondence courses. It would include 1890 land-grant schools but exclude 1862 land-grant schools, very high research universities, and service a…
- How colleges get designated for grants: mixed, low. This bill would set a path for schools to join. The Secretary would list colleges in distressed communities and notify them. A college that wants grants would have to send a notice of intent in the time and form the Secretary sets. The Secretary would then designate that college as eligible for pla…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-5796 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5796)

## Related
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4393)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5796 (as of 2026-04-21).