# 119-s-2618: MORE USDA Grants Act

119-s-2618, MORE USDA Grants Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-29).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2618
- As of: 2026-07-29
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2618
- Congress: 119
- Title: MORE USDA Grants Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-31
- Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-29

## Summary

**Expand grant access for counties where most land is federally owned.** The bill would define High-Density Public Land Counties, lower local match requirements, boost technical help, and give application priority to local and Tribal governments in those counties. - Local and Tribal governments in qualifying counties would get a 50% reduction in local matching requirements for listed USDA rural grant programs and extra technical assistance during application periods. - A county would qualify as a High-Density Public Land County if its population does not exceed 100,000 and more than 50% of its land is owned or managed by the Federal Government. - The Secretary of Agriculture would be required to prioritize HDPLC applicants who have not received qualifying grant support in the prior 10 years and may relax barriers such as scoring criteria, partnership rules, or cash-on-hand requirements to improve access; qualifying programs named include Rural Business Development, Community Facilities, Telemedicine and Distance Learning, Community Connect, ReConnect, and other Rural Development or energy grant authorities.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More grant help for public land counties: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a "High-Density Public Land County" label. That label would apply to counties with no more than 100,000 people and more than 50% federal land. Applicants in those counties would have local matching fund requirements cut by 50% for qualifying USDA grants. The Agricu…
- Which USDA grants qualify: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would define what counts as a "qualifying grant program." The list would name several rural programs (for example, Rural Business Development, Community Facilities, Economic Impact Initiative, Telemedicine and Distance Learning, Community Connect, and the ReConnect broadband pi…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act
- 119-s-199: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the taxation of certain residents of Taiwan with income from sources within the…
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-s-1547: America the Beautiful Act
- 119-s-522: Credit Union Board Modernization Act

## Sources
- [119-s-2618 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2618)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3940)
- [119-s-199: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-199)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-s-1547: America the Beautiful Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1547)
- [119-s-522: Credit Union Board Modernization Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-522)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2618 (as of 2026-07-29).