I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3473
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize
the National Rural Development Partnership, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 13, 2001
Mr. PICKERING (for himself, Mr. TURNER, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania,
Mr. SCHAFFER, Mr. BALDACCI of Maryland, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. EMER-
SON, Mr. FROST, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr.
LAMPSON, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. OLVER, Mr. REHBERG, Mr.
KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. BAIRD, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. LARSON of
Connecticut, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. MAR-
KEY, Mr. FRANK, Mr. NEAL of Masachusetts, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. POM-
EROY, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. SABO, Mr. CANNON
and Mr. GILCHREST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development
Act to authorize the National Rural Development Part-
nership, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Rural Devel-
opment Partnership Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) rural development has been given high pri-
ority throughout most of this century as a means of
achieving a sound balance between rural and urban
areas in the United States, a balance that Congress
considers essential to the peace, prosperity, and wel-
fare of all citizens of the United States;
(2)(A) during the last half century, Congress
has enacted many laws and established many pro-
grams to provide resources to rural communities;
(B) in addition, many efforts have been made
to coordinate Federal rural development programs;
and
(C) during the last decade, the National Rural
Development Partnership and its principal compo-
nents, the National Rural Development Council and
State rural development councils, have successfully
provided opportunities for collaboration and coordi-
nation among Federal agencies and between Federal
agencies and States, nonprofit organizations, the
private sector, tribal governments, and other entities
committed to rural advancement;
(3) Congress enacted the Rural Development
Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 657) and the Rural Develop-
ment Policy Act of 1980 (94 Stat. 1171) as a mani-
festation of this commitment to rural development;
(4) section 607(b)(3) of the Rural Development
Policy Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2204b(b)(3)) directs
the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a process
through which multi-state, State, substate, and local
rural development needs, goals objectives, plans, and
recommendations can be received and assessed on a
continuing basis;
(5) the National Rural Development Partner-
ship and State rural development councils were es-
tablished as vehicles to help coordinate development
of rural programs in 1990;
(6) in 1991, the Secretary began to execute
those statutory responsibilities, in part through the
innovative mechanism of national, State, and local
rural development partnerships administered by the
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Small Commu-
nity and Rural Development;
(7) that mechanism, now known as the ‘‘Na-
tional Rural Development Partnership’’, has been
recognized as a model of new governance and as an
example of the effectiveness of collaboration between
the Federal, State, local, tribal, private, and non-
profit sectors in addressing the needs of the rural
communities of the United States;
(8) partnerships by agencies and entities in the
Partnership would extend scarce but valuable fund-
ing through collaboration and cooperation; and
(9) the continued success and efficacy of the
Partnership could be enhanced through specific Con-
gressional authorization removing any statutory bar-
riers that could detract from the benefits potentially
achieved through the Partnership’s unique structure.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP.
Subtitle E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 2009 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 381P. NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNER-
SHIP.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) AGENCY
WITH
RURAL
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.—The term ‘agency with rural responsibilities’
means any executive agency (as defined in section
105 of title 5, United States Code) that—
‘‘(A) implements Federal law targeted at
rural areas, including—
‘‘(i) the Act of April 24, 1950 (com-
monly known as the ‘Granger-Thye Act’)
(64 Stat. 82, chapter 9);
‘‘(ii) the Intergovernmental Coopera-
tion Act of 1968 (82 Stat. 1098);
‘‘(iii) section 41742 of title 49, United
States Code;
‘‘(iv) the Rural Development Act of
1972 (86 Stat. 657);
‘‘(v) the Rural Development Policy
Act of 1980 (94 Stat. 1171);
‘‘(vi) the Rural Electrification Act of
1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.);
‘‘(vii) amendments made to section
334 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 254g) by the Rural Health Clinics
Act of 1983 (97 Stat. 1345); and
‘‘(viii) the Rural Housing Amend-
ments of 1983 (97 Stat. 1240) and the
amendments made by the Rural Housing
Amendments of 1983 to title V of the
Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et
seq.); or
‘‘(B) administers a program that has a sig-
nificant impact on rural areas, including—
‘‘(i) the Appalachian Regional Com-
mission;
‘‘(ii) the Department of Agriculture;
‘‘(iii) the Department of Commerce;
‘‘(iv) the Department of Defense;
‘‘(v) the Department of Education;
‘‘(vi) the Department of Energy;
‘‘(vii) the Department of Health and
Human Services;
‘‘(viii) the Department of Housing
and Urban Development;
‘‘(ix) the Department of the Interior;
‘‘(x) the Department of Justice;
‘‘(xi) the Department of Labor;
‘‘(xii) the Department of Transpor-
tation;
‘‘(xiii) the Department of the Treas-
ury.
‘‘(xiv) the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs;
‘‘(xv) the Environmental Protection
Agency;
‘‘(xvi) the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Administration;
‘‘(xvii) the Small Business Adminis-
tration;
‘‘(xviii) the Social Security Adminis-
tration;
‘‘(xix) the Federal Reserve System;
‘‘(xx) the United States Postal Serv-
ice;
‘‘(xxi) the Corporation for National
Service;
‘‘(xxii) the National Endowment for
the Arts and the National Endowment for
the Humanities; and
‘‘(xxiii) other agencies, commissions,
and corporations.
‘‘(2) COORDINATING
COMMITTEE.—The term
‘Coordinating Committee’ means the National Rural
Development Coordinating Committee established by
subsection (c).
‘‘(3) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘Partnership’
means the National Rural Development Partnership
established by subsection (b).
‘‘(4) RURAL
AREA.—The term ‘rural area’
means—
‘‘(A) all the territory of a State that is not
within the boundary of any standard metropoli-
tan statistical area, as designated by the Direc-
tor of the Office of Management and Budget;
‘‘(B) all territory within any standard met-
ropolitan statistical area described in subpara-
graph (A) within a census tract having a popu-
lation density of less than 20 persons per
square mile, as determined by the Secretary ac-
cording to the most recent census of the United
States as of any date; and
‘‘(C) such areas as a State rural develop-
ment council may identify as rural.
‘‘(5) STATE RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL.—
The term ‘State rural development council’ means a
State rural development council that meets the re-
quirements of subsection (d).
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Na-
tional Rural Development Partnership composed
of—
‘‘(A) the Coordinating Committee; and
‘‘(B) State rural development councils.
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Partner-
ship are—
‘‘(A) to empower and build the capacity of
States and rural communities within States to
design unique responses to their own special
rural development needs, with local determina-
tions of progress and selection of projects and
activities;
‘‘(B) to encourage participants to be flexi-
ble and innovative in establishing new partner-
ships and trying fresh, new approaches to rural
development issues, with responses to rural de-
velopment that use different approaches to fit
different situations; and
‘‘(C) to encourage all partners in the Part-
nership (Federal, State, local, and tribal gov-
ernments, the private sector, and nonprofit or-
ganizations) to be fully engaged and share
equally in decisions.
‘‘(3) ROLE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The
role of the Federal Government in the Partnership
shall be that of a partner, coach, and facilitator,
with Federal agencies authorized—
‘‘(A) to cooperate closely with States to
implement the Partnership;
‘‘(B) to provide States with the technical
and administrative support necessary to plan
and implement tailored rural development strat-
egies to meet local needs;
‘‘(C) to delegate decisionmaking to other
levels;
‘‘(D) to ensure that the head of each agen-
cy referred to in subsection (a)(1)(B) des-
ignates a senior-level agency official to rep-
resent the agency on the Coordinating Com-
mittee and directs appropriate field staff to par-
ticipate fully with the State rural development
council within the jurisdiction of the field staff;
and
‘‘(E) to enter into cooperative agreements
with, and to provide grants and other assistance
to, State rural development councils, regardless
of the legal form of organization of a State
rural development council and notwithstanding
any other provision of law.
‘‘(4) ROLE OF PRIVATE AND NONPROFIT SEC-
TOR ORGANIZATIONS.—Private and nonprofit sector
organizations are encouraged—
‘‘(A) to act as full partners in the Partner-
ship and State rural development councils; and
‘‘(B) to cooperate with participating gov-
ernment organizations in developing innovative
approaches to the solution of rural development
problems.
‘‘(c) NATIONAL
RURAL
DEVELOPMENT
COORDI-
NATING COMMITTEE.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a
National Rural Development Coordinating Com-
mittee.
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Coordinating Com-
mittee shall be composed of—
‘‘(A) 1 representative of each agency with
rural responsibilities that elects to participate in
the Coordinating Committee; and
‘‘(B) representatives of—
‘‘(i) national associations of State, re-
gional, local, and tribal governments and
intergovernmental and multi-jurisdictional
agencies and organizations;
‘‘(ii) national public interest groups;
and
‘‘(iii) other national nonprofit organi-
zations that elect to participate in the ac-
tivities of the Coordinating Committee.
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Coordinating Committee
shall—
‘‘(A) provide support for the work of the
State rural development councils;
‘‘(B) facilitate coordination among Federal
programs and activities, and with State, local,
tribal, and private programs and activities, af-
fecting rural development;
‘‘(C) enhance the effectiveness, responsive-
ness, and delivery of Federal programs in rural
areas;
‘‘(D) gather and provide to Federal au-
thorities information and input for the develop-
ment and implementation of Federal programs
impacting rural economic and community devel-
opment;
‘‘(E) review and comment on policies, reg-
ulations, and proposed legislation that affect or
would affect rural areas;
‘‘(F) provide technical assistance to State
rural development councils for the implementa-
tion of Federal programs; and
‘‘(G) develop and facilitate strategies to re-
duce or eliminate administrative and regulatory
impediments.
‘‘(4) PERFORMANCE
EVALUATIONS.—In con-
ducting a performance evaluation of an employee of
an agency with rural responsibilities, the agency
shall consider any comments submitted by a State
rural development council.
‘‘(d) STATE RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each State may elect
to participate in the Partnership by entering into an
agreement with the Secretary to establish a State
rural development council.
‘‘(2) STATE DIVERSITY.—Each State rural de-
velopment council shall—
‘‘(A) have a nonpartisan and nondiscrim-
inatory membership that is broad and rep-
resentative of the economic, social, and political
diversity of the State; and
‘‘(B) carry out programs and activities in
a manner that reflects the diversity of the
State.
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—A State rural development
council shall—
‘‘(A) facilitate collaboration among Fed-
eral, State, local, and tribal governments and
the private and nonprofit sectors in the plan-
ning and implementation of programs and poli-
cies that target or have an impact on rural
areas of the State;
‘‘(B) enhance the effectiveness, responsive-
ness, and delivery of Federal and State pro-
grams in rural areas of the State;
‘‘(C) gather and provide to the Coordi-
nating Committee and other appropriate organi-
zations information on the condition of rural
areas in the State;
‘‘(D) monitor and report on policies and
programs that address, or fail to address, the
needs of the rural areas of the State;
‘‘(E) facilitate the formulation of local
needs assessments for the rural areas of the
State and participate in the development of cri-
teria for the distribution of Federal funds to
the rural areas of the State;
‘‘(F) provide comments to the Coordi-
nating Committee and other appropriate organi-
zations on policies, regulations, and proposed
legislation that affect or would affect the rural
areas of the State;
‘‘(G) in conjunction with the Coordinating
Committee, facilitate the development of strate-
gies to reduce or eliminate conflicting or dupli-
cative administrative or regulatory requirements
of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments;
and
‘‘(H) use grant or cooperative agreement
funds available to the Partnership to—
‘‘(i) retain an Executive Director and
such support staff as are necessary to fa-
cilitate and implement the directives of the
State rural development council; and
‘‘(ii) pay expenses associated with car-
rying out subparagraphs (A) through (G)
and subparagraph (J).
‘‘(4) AUTHORITIES.—A State rural development
council may—
‘‘(A) solicit funds to supplement and
match funds granted under paragraph (3)(H);
and
‘‘(B) engage in activities, in addition to
those specified in paragraph (3), appropriate to
accomplish the purposes for which the State
rural development council is established.
‘‘(5) COMMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State rural develop-
ment council may provide comments and rec-
ommendations to an agency with rural respon-
sibilities related to the activities of the State
rural development council within the State.
‘‘(B) AGENCY.—The agency with rural re-
sponsibilities shall provide to the State rural de-
velopment council a written response to the
comments or recommendations.
‘‘(6) ACTIONS OF STATE RURAL DEVELOPMENT
COUNCIL MEMBERS.—When carrying out a program
or activity authorized by a State rural development
council, a member of the council shall be regarded
as an employee of the Federal Government for pur-
poses of chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code.
‘‘(7) FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN STATE RURAL
DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), Federal employees may participate
in a State rural development council.
‘‘(B) CONFLICTS.—A Federal employee
who participates in a State rural development
council shall not participate in the making of
any council decision if the agency represented
by the Federal employee has any financial or
other interest in the outcome of the decision.
‘‘(C) FEDERAL GUIDANCE.—The Attorney
General shall issue guidance to all Federal em-
ployees that participate in State rural develop-
ment councils that describes specific decisions
that—
‘‘(i) would constitute a conflict of in-
terest for the Federal employee; and
‘‘(ii) from which the Federal employee
must recuse himself or herself.
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARTNERSHIP.—
‘‘(1) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.—In order to pro-
vide experience in intergovernmental collaboration,
with the approval of the head of an agency with
rural responsibilities that elects to participate in the
Partnership, an employee of the agency with rural
responsibilities is encouraged to be detailed to the
Partnership without reimbursement, and such detail
shall be without interruption or loss of civil service
status or privilege.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL
SUPPORT.—The Secretary
shall provide for any additional support staff to the
Partnership as the Secretary determines to be nec-
essary to carry out the duties of the Partnership.
‘‘(3) PANEL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A panel consisting of
representatives of the Coordinating Committee
and State rural development councils shall be
established to lead and coordinate the strategic
operation, policies, and practices of the Part-
nership.
‘‘(B) ANNUAL
REPORTS.—In conjunction
with the Coordinating Committee and State
rural development councils, the panel shall pre-
pare and submit to Congress an annual report
on the activities of the Partnership.
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section.
‘‘(B) FUNDING FORMULA.—In the case of
general financial support provided by the Fed-
eral Government to all State rural development
councils, such support shall be uniform in
amount, but the Secretary may distribute gen-
eral financial support that exceeds 200 percent
of the uniform amount received by all State
rural development councils for fiscal year 2002
under a formula that takes into account the ge-
ographic size of the rural areas of the respective
States, the rural populations of the respective
States, economic factors, and other appropriate
factors.
‘‘(2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, in order to carry out the
purposes described in subsection (b)(2), the
Partnership shall be eligible to receive grants,
gifts, contributions, or technical assistance
from, or enter into contracts with, any Federal
agency, to the extent permitted by law.
‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE.—Federal agencies are
encouraged to use funds made available for pro-
grams that target or have an impact on rural
areas to provide assistance to, and enter into
contracts with, the Partnership, as described in
subparagraph (A).
‘‘(3) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Partnership may
accept private contributions.
‘‘(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE RURAL
DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS.—A State rural development
council shall provide matching funds, or in-kind goods or
services, to support the activities of the State rural devel-
opment council in an amount that is not less than 33 per-
cent of the amount of Federal funds received under an
agreement under subsection (d)(1).
‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—The authority provided under
this section shall terminate on the date that is 5 years
after the date of enactment of this section.’’.
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