# 119-hr-7579: Empowering Rural Communities Act

119-hr-7579, Empowering Rural Communities Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Letlow, Julia [R-LA-5] (R-LA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-20).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7579
- As of: 2026-08-20
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7579
- Congress: 119
- Title: Empowering Rural Communities Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-02-13
- Sponsor: Rep. Letlow, Julia [R-LA-5] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-20

## Summary

**A mandatory 2.5% technical assistance set-aside for Rural Development discretionary grants** directs USDA to reserve at least 2.5% of each program's appropriations to help low-capacity and high-need rural communities prepare stronger applications and complete projects. The funding supports training, pre-development work, outreach, and development of project-ready applications for broadband, water and wastewater, housing, community facilities, business development, and other priorities. - Families and rural households: Could see faster progress on local projects like broadband, water, and housing because communities get help preparing stronger grant applications. - Low-capacity and persistent-poverty communities: Priority goes to places with populations under 20,000 or persistent poverty, defined as 20% or more in poverty for 30 years. - Eligible technical assistance providers: Local governments, Tribal governments, nonprofits, cooperatives, land-grant institutions, and qualified private firms can receive cooperative agreements, grants, subgrants, or contracts to deliver support. - State Rural Development offices: Must identify high-need communities, coordinate with providers, and ensure assistance is distributed geographically and equitably. - Transparency and oversight: The Secretary must publish an annual public report showing amounts reserved and spent, communities assisted, measurable outcomes like application completion and award success, and recommendations. *Does not authorize new funds and requires the Secretary to use amounts otherwise appropriated, limiting federal costs to existing appropriations.*

## Provisions PRIA read

- More grant help for rural communities: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would require USDA to reserve at least 2.5% of each Rural Development discretionary grant program's yearly appropriations for technical assistance. The reserved funds would pay for training, engineering and environmental studies, outreach, application development, and post-awar…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-833: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act
- 119-hr-3089: More Paid Leave for More Americans Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-4154: Employee Rights Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-7579 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7579)

## Related
- [119-hr-833: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-833)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [119-hr-3089: More Paid Leave for More Americans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3089)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-4154: Employee Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4154)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7579 (as of 2026-08-20).