1195 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(C) CARRYOVER
OF
FUNDS.—Funds re-
ceived by an eligible entity that is awarded a 
subgrant under this section shall remain avail-
able until expended. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the competitive 
distribution of subgrants under subsection (c), an eli-
gible State may give priority to an eligible entity 
that— 
‘‘(A) has not previously received a subgrant 
under this section; or 
‘‘(B) is located in a community or region in 
that eligible State with the highest degree of food 
insecurity, as determined by the agricultural de-
partment or agency of the eligible State. 
‘‘(3) PROJECTS.—An eligible State may provide 
subgrants to 2 or more eligible entities to carry out 
the same project. 
‘‘(4) USE OF SUBGRANT FUNDS BY ELIGIBLE EN-
TITIES.—An eligible entity that receives a subgrant 
under this section shall use the funds to engage in ac-
tivities that will increase the quantity and quality of 
locally grown food, including by— 
‘‘(A) purchasing gardening tools or equip-
ment, soil, soil amendments, seeds, plants, ani-
1196 
† HR 2 EAS 
mals, canning equipment, refrigeration, or other 
items necessary to grow and store food; 
‘‘(B) purchasing or building composting 
units; 
‘‘(C) purchasing or building towers designed 
to grow leafy green vegetables; 
‘‘(D) expanding an area under cultivation 
or engaging in other activities necessary to be el-
igible to receive funding under the environmental 
quality incentives program established under 
chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) 
for a high tunnel; 
‘‘(E) engaging in an activity that extends 
the growing season; 
‘‘(F) starting or expanding hydroponic and 
aeroponic farming of any scale; 
‘‘(G) building, buying, erecting, or repair-
ing fencing for livestock, poultry, or reindeer; 
‘‘(H) purchasing and equipping a slaughter 
and processing facility approved by the Sec-
retary; 
‘‘(I) travelling to participate in agricul-
tural education provided by—
1197 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(i) a State cooperative extension serv-
ice; 
‘‘(ii) a land-grant college or university 
(as defined in section 1404 of the National 
Agricultural 
Research, 
Extension, 
and 
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 
3103)); 
‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 
(as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1059c(b))); 
‘‘(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institu-
tion or a Native Hawaiian-serving institu-
tion (as those terms are defined in section 
317(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); or 
‘‘(v) a Federal or State agency; 
‘‘(J) paying for shipping of purchased items 
relating to increasing food security; 
‘‘(K) creating or expanding avenues for— 
‘‘(i) the sale of food commodities, spe-
cialty crops, and meats that are grown by 
the eligible entity for sale in the local com-
munity; or
1198 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(ii) the availability of fresh, locally 
grown, and nutritious food; and 
‘‘(L) engaging in other activities relating to 
increasing food security (including subsistence), 
as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSIST-
ANCE.—An eligible entity shall not be ineligible to re-
ceive financial assistance under another program ad-
ministered by the Secretary as a result of receiving a 
subgrant under this section. 
‘‘(f) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) SUBGRANT RECIPIENTS.—As a condition of 
receiving a subgrant under this section, an eligible 
entity shall submit to the eligible State in which the 
eligible entity is located a report— 
‘‘(A) as soon as practicable after the end of 
the project; and 
‘‘(B) that describes the quantity of food 
grown and the number of people fed as a result 
of the subgrant. 
‘‘(2) REPORT
TO
THE
SECRETARY.—Not later 
than 120 days after the date on which an eligible 
State receives a report from each eligible entity in 
that State under paragraph (1), the eligible State 
shall submit to the Secretary a report that describes,
1199 
† HR 2 EAS 
in the aggregate, the information and data contained 
in the reports received from those eligible entities. 
‘‘(g) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter, to remain 
available until expended. 
‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS IN ADVANCE.—Only funds 
appropriated under paragraph (1) in advance specifi-
cally to carry out this section shall be available to 
carry out this section. 
‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section takes effect on 
the date of enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act 
of 2018.’’. 
SEC. 12617. USE OF ADDITIONAL COMMODITY CREDIT COR-
PORATION FUNDS FOR DIRECT OPERATING 
MICROLOANS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. 
Section 346(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1994(b)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) USE OF ADDITIONAL COMMODITY CREDIT 
CORPORATION
FUNDS
FOR
DIRECT
OPERATING 
MICROLOANS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.—
1200 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter-
mines that the amount needed for a fiscal year 
for direct operating loans (including microloans) 
under subtitle B is greater than the aggregate 
principal amount authorized for that fiscal year 
by this Act, an appropriations Act, or any other 
provision of law, the Secretary shall make addi-
tional microloans under subtitle B using 
amounts made available under subparagraph 
(B). 
‘‘(B) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Com-
modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall 
use to make microloans under subtitle B, under 
the conditions described in subparagraph (A), 
not more than $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
years 2019 through 2023. 
‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Not later than 15 days be-
fore the date on which the Secretary uses the au-
thority under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the 
Secretary shall submit a notice of the use of that 
authority to— 
‘‘(i) the Committee on Appropriations 
of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations 
of the Senate;
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† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible enti-
ty’ means a rural jobs accelerator partnership estab-
lished after the date of enactment of this section 
that— 
‘‘(A) organizes key community and regional 
stakeholders into a working group that— 
‘‘(i) focuses on the shared goals and 
needs of the industry clusters that are objec-
tively identified as existing, emerging, or 
declining; 
‘‘(ii) represents a region defined by the 
partnership in accordance with subpara-
graph (B); 
‘‘(iii) includes 1 or more representa-
tives of— 
‘‘(I) an institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 101 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001)); 
‘‘(II) a private entity; or 
‘‘(III) a government entity; 
‘‘(iv) may include 1 or more represent-
atives of—
1203 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(I) an economic development or 
other community or labor organiza-
tion; 
‘‘(II) a financial institution, in-
cluding a community development fi-
nancial institution (as defined in sec-
tion 103 of the Community Develop-
ment Banking and Financial Institu-
tions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702)); 
‘‘(III) a philanthropic organiza-
tion; or 
‘‘(IV) a rural cooperative, if the 
cooperative is organized as a nonprofit 
organization; and 
‘‘(v) has, as a lead applicant— 
‘‘(I) a District Organization (as 
defined in section 300.3 of title 13, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc-
cessor regulation)); 
‘‘(II) an Indian tribe (as defined 
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or a consortium 
of Indian tribes;
1204 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(III) a State or a political sub-
division of a State, including a special 
purpose unit of a State or local govern-
ment engaged in economic development 
activities, or a consortium of political 
subdivisions; 
‘‘(IV) an institution of higher 
education (as defined in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001)) or a consortium of insti-
tutions of higher education; or 
‘‘(V) a public or private nonprofit 
organization; and 
‘‘(B) subject to approval by the Secretary, 
may— 
‘‘(i) serve a region that is— 
‘‘(I) a single jurisdiction; or 
‘‘(II) if the region is a rural area, 
multijurisdictional; and 
‘‘(ii) define the region that the partner-
ship represents, if the region— 
‘‘(I) is large enough to contain 
critical elements of the industry cluster 
prioritized by the partnership;
1205 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(II) is small enough to enable 
close collaboration among members of 
the partnership; 
‘‘(III) includes a majority of com-
munities that are located in— 
‘‘(aa) 
a 
nonmetropolitan 
area that qualifies as a low-in-
come community (as defined in 
section 45D(e) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986); and 
‘‘(bb) an area that has access 
to or has a plan to achieve 
broadband service (within the 
meaning of title VI of the Rural 
Electrification Act of 1936 (7 
U.S.C. 950bb et seq.)); and 
‘‘(IV)(aa) has a population of 
50,000 or fewer inhabitants; or 
‘‘(bb) for a region with a popu-
lation of more than 50,000 inhab-
itants, is the subject of a positive deter-
mination by the Secretary with respect 
to a rural-in-character petition, in-
cluding such a petition submitted con-
currently with the application of the
1206 
† HR 2 EAS 
partnership for a grant under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) INDUSTRY CLUSTER.—The term ‘industry 
cluster’ means a broadly defined network of inter-
connected firms and supporting institutions in re-
lated industries that accelerate innovation, business 
formation, and job creation by taking advantage of 
assets and strengths of a region in the business envi-
ronment. 
‘‘(3) HIGH-WAGE JOB.—The term ‘high-wage job’ 
means a job that provides a wage that is greater than 
the median wage for the applicable region, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) JOBS ACCELERATOR.—The term ‘jobs accel-
erator’ means a jobs accelerator center or program lo-
cated in or serving a low-income rural community 
that may provide co-working space, in-demand skills 
training, entrepreneurship support, and any other 
services described in subsection (d)(1)(B). 
‘‘(5) SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS.— 
The term ‘small and disadvantaged business’ has the 
meaning given the term ‘small business concern 
owned and controlled by socially and economically 
disadvantaged individuals’ in section 8(d)(3)(C) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)).
1207 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
a grant program under which the Secretary shall 
award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible enti-
ties to establish jobs accelerators, including related 
programming, that— 
‘‘(A) improve the ability of distressed rural 
communities to create high-wage jobs, accelerate 
the formation of new businesses with high-growth 
potential, and strengthen regional economies, in-
cluding by helping to build capacity in the ap-
plicable region to achieve those goals; and 
‘‘(B) help rural communities identify and 
maximize local assets and connect to regional op-
portunities, networks, and industry clusters that 
demonstrate high growth potential. 
‘‘(2) COST-SHARING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 
the cost of any activity carried out using a grant 
made under paragraph (1) shall be not greater 
than 80 percent. 
‘‘(B) IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non- 
Federal share of the total cost of any activity 
carried out using a grant made under paragraph
1208 
† HR 2 EAS 
(1) may be in the form of donations or in-kind 
contributions of goods or services fairly valued. 
‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting eligible 
entities to receive grants under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(A) the commitment of participating core 
stakeholders in the jobs accelerator partnership, 
including a demonstration that— 
‘‘(i) investment organizations, includ-
ing venture development organizations, ven-
ture capital firms, revolving loan funders, 
angel investment groups, community lend-
ers, community development financial insti-
tutions, rural business investment compa-
nies, small business investment companies 
(as defined in section 103 of the Small 
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 
662)), philanthropic organizations, and 
other institutions focused on expanding ac-
cess to capital, are committed partners in 
the jobs accelerator partnership and willing 
to potentially invest in projects emerging 
from the jobs accelerator; and 
‘‘(ii) institutions of higher education, 
applied research institutions, workforce de-
1209 
† HR 2 EAS 
velopment entities, and community-based 
organizations are willing to partner with 
the jobs accelerator to provide workers with 
skills relevant to the industry cluster needs 
of the region, with an emphasis on the use 
of on-the-job training, registered apprentice-
ships, customized training, classroom occu-
pational training, or incumbent worker 
training; 
‘‘(B) the ability of the eligible entity to pro-
vide the non-Federal share as required under 
paragraph (2); 
‘‘(C) the speed of available broadband serv-
ice and how the jobs accelerator plans to improve 
access to high-speed broadband service, if nec-
essary, and leverage that broadband service for 
programs of the jobs accelerator; 
‘‘(D) the identification of a targeted indus-
try cluster, including a description of— 
‘‘(i) data showing the existence of 
emergence of an industry cluster; 
‘‘(ii) the importance of the industry 
cluster to economic growth in the region; 
‘‘(iii) the specific needs and opportuni-
ties for growth in the industry cluster;
1210 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(iv) the unique assets a region has to 
support the industry cluster and to have a 
competitive advantage in that industry 
cluster; 
‘‘(v) evidence of a concentration of 
firms or concentration of employees in the 
industry cluster; and 
‘‘(vi) available industry-specific infra-
structure that supports the industry cluster; 
‘‘(E) the ability of the partnership to link 
rural communities to markets, networks, indus-
try clusters, and other regional opportunities 
and assets— 
‘‘(i) to improve the competitiveness of 
the rural region; 
‘‘(ii) to repatriate United States jobs; 
‘‘(iii) to foster high-wage job creation; 
‘‘(iv) to support innovation and entre-
preneurship; and 
‘‘(v) to promote private investment in 
the rural regional economy; 
‘‘(F) other grants or loans of the Secretary 
and other Federal agencies that the jobs accel-
erator would be able to leverage; and
1211 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(G) prospects for the proposed center and 
related programming to have sustainability be-
yond the full maximum length of assistance 
under this subsection, including the maximum 
number of renewals. 
‘‘(4) GRANT TERM AND RENEWALS.— 
‘‘(A) TERM.—The initial term of a grant 
under paragraph (1) shall be 4 years. 
‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew 
a grant under paragraph (1) for an additional 
period of not longer than 2 years if the Secretary 
is satisfied, using the evaluation under sub-
section (e)(2), that the grant recipient has suc-
cessfully established a jobs accelerator and re-
lated programming. 
‘‘(5) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—To the max-
imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide 
grants under paragraph (1) for jobs accelerators and 
related programming in not fewer than 25 States at 
any time. 
‘‘(c) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant awarded under sub-
section (b) may be in an amount equal to— 
‘‘(1) not less than $500,000; and 
‘‘(2) not more than $2,000,000. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—
1212 
† HR 2 EAS 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
funds from a grant awarded under subsection (b) 
may be used— 
‘‘(A) to construct, purchase, or equip a 
building to serve as an innovation center, which 
may include— 
‘‘(i) housing for business owners or 
workers; 
‘‘(ii) co-working space, which may in-
clude space for remote work; 
‘‘(iii) space for businesses to utilize 
with a focus on entrepreneurs and small 
and disadvantaged businesses but that may 
include collaboration with companies of all 
sizes; 
‘‘(iv) job training programs; and 
‘‘(v) efforts to utilize the innovation 
center as part of the development of a com-
munity downtown; or 
‘‘(B) to support programs to be carried out 
at, or in direct partnership with, the jobs accel-
erator that support the objectives of the jobs ac-
celerator, including— 
‘‘(i) linking rural communities to mar-
kets, networks, industry clusters, and other
1213 
† HR 2 EAS 
regional opportunities to support high-wage 
job creation, new business formation, and 
economic growth; 
‘‘(ii) integrating small businesses into 
a supply chain; 
‘‘(iii) creating or expanding commer-
cialization activities for new business for-
mation; 
‘‘(iv) identifying and building assets 
in rural communities that are crucial to 
supporting regional economies; 
‘‘(v) facilitating the repatriation of 
high-wage jobs to the United States; 
‘‘(vi) supporting the deployment of in-
novative processes, technologies, and prod-
ucts; 
‘‘(vii) enhancing the capacity of small 
businesses in regional industry clusters, in-
cluding small and disadvantaged businesses; 
‘‘(viii) increasing United States ex-
ports and business interaction with inter-
national buyers and suppliers; 
‘‘(ix) developing the skills and expertise 
of local workforces, entrepreneurs, and insti-
tutional partners to support growing indus-