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117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 

To establish a White House Rural Council, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2021 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. BISHOP of 

Georgia, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 

KIND, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To establish a White House Rural Council, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transforming Hiring 

5 in Rural Industries and Vital Economies Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WHITE HOUSE RURAL COUNCIL. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

8 Executive Office of the President a White House Rural 

9 Council (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 


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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (1) CHAIR.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

3 serve as the Chair of the Council. 

4 (2) MEMBERS.—The Council shall be composed 

5 of the heads of the following: 

6 (A) The Department of the Treasury. 

7 (B) The Department of Defense. 

8 (C) The Department of Justice. 

9 (D) The Department of the Interior. 

10 (E) The Department of Commerce. 

11 (F) The Department of Labor. 

12 (G) The Department of Health and 

13 Human Services. 

14 (H) The Department of Housing and 

15 Urban Development. 

16 (I) The Department of Transportation. 

17 (J) The Department of Energy. 

18 (K) The Department of Education. 

19 (L) The Department of Veterans Affairs. 

20 (M) The Department of Homeland Secu21 rity. 

22 (N) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

23 (O) The Federal Communications Commis24 sion. 


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1 (P) The Office of Management and Budg2 et. 

3 (Q) The Office of Science and Technology 

4 Policy. 

5 (R) The Office of National Drug Control 

6 Policy. 

7 (S) The Council of Economic Advisers. 

8 (T) The Domestic Policy Council. 

9 (U) The National Economic Council. 

10 (V) The Small Business Administration. 

11 (W) The Council on Environmental Qual12 ity. 

13 (X) The White House Office of Public En14 gagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. 

15 (Y) The White House Office of Cabinet Af16 fairs. 

17 (Z) Any other department, agency, or of18 fice of the executive branch as the President or 

19 Secretary of Agriculture may designate. 

20 (3) DESIGNEES.—Any member of the Council 

21 may designate a senior-level official, who is employed 

22 full-time in the department, agency, or office of such 

23 member, to carry out the duties of the member 

24 under this section. 


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1 (c) MEETINGS.—Not later than six months after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, and every six months 

3 thereafter, the Council shall convene a meeting of rep4 resentatives of the executive departments, agencies, and 

5 offices represented on the Council to develop plans to co6 ordinate the efforts of such executive departments, agen7 cies, and offices and facilitate efficient services to stake8 holders. At such meetings, each such representative 

9 shall— 

10 (1) share information regarding the rural eco11 nomic development efforts and activities of the rep12 resentative’s executive department, agency, or office; 

13 (2) identify opportunities for collaboration and 

14 coordination of research agendas, vulnerability as15 sessments, data collection and analysis, and plan16 ning and implementing rural economic development 

17 projects; 

18 (3) identify rural economic development infor19 mation needs, research gaps, and decision support 

20 needs that are not met by any executive department, 

21 agency, or office represented on the Council and 

22 make available such identification for purposes of in23 formation to be submitted to the Council; 


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1 (4) identify common and complementary goals 

2 for rural economic development within each region 

3 to be prioritized for the coming year and beyond; 

4 (5) identify barriers to rural economic develop5 ment planning and implementation that can be over6 come or minimized through Federal action and spe7 cific suggestions for improvement; 

8 (6) evaluate progress and jointly develop a 

9 strategy for realizing rural economic development-re10 lated goals, including clearly identified responsibil11 ities by each collaborating regional office, center, or 

12 program; and 

13 (7) share experiences and best practices in 

14 stakeholder engagement and communication, deci15 sion support, and economic development interactions 

16 that support the realization of identified rural eco17 nomic development goals. 

18 (d) DUTIES.—The Council shall carry out the fol19 lowing: 

20 (1) Coordinate with the Domestic Policy Coun21 cil and the National Economic Council to develop 

22 the policy of the Council. 

23 (2) Coordinate with departments, agencies, and 

24 offices of the executive branch to develop policy rec25 ommendations that promote economic prosperity and 


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1 quality of life in rural areas (as defined by the Sec2 retary of Agriculture) throughout the United States. 

3 (3) Make recommendations to the President, 

4 through the Director of the Domestic Policy Council 

5 and the Director of the National Economic Council, 

6 on how to best use Federal investments in rural 

7 areas for the purpose of facilitating job growth and 

8 economic development. 

9 (4) Coordinate and increase the effectiveness of 

10 Federal engagement with rural stakeholders, includ11 ing agricultural organizations, small businesses, edu12 cation and training institutions, health care pro13 viders, telecommunications services providers, re14 search and land grant institutions, law enforcement, 

15 State, local, and Tribal governments, and non16 governmental organizations regarding the needs of 

17 rural areas throughout the United States. 

18 (5) Coordinate Federal efforts directed toward 

19 the growth and development of geographic regions 

20 that encompass both urban and rural areas. 

21 (6) Identify and facilitate rural economic oppor22 tunities associated with energy development, outdoor 

23 recreation, and other conservation-related activities. 

24 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

25 (or staff designated by the Secretary) shall provide to the 


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1 Council administrative support services and additional re2 sources, as appropriate, to the extent permitted by law and 

3 within existing appropriations. The Secretary shall deter4 mine the amount of funding and personnel necessary for 

5 the Council to carry out its duties and the amount of fund6 ing and personnel each department, agency, or office rep7 resented on the Council should contribute in order for the 

8 Council to carry out such duties. Such department, agen9 cy, or office shall, upon the request of the Secretary, make 

10 available to the Council personnel, administrative support 

11 services, and information. 

12 (f) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi13 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 

14 of this section. Such requirements shall be carried out 

15 using amounts otherwise authorized. 

Æ 


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