I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7019 
To establish the Office of Rural Prosperity, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2022 
Ms. CRAIG (for herself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, 
Mr. O’HALLERAN, and Mr. FEENSTRA) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To establish the Office of Rural Prosperity, 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 ‘‘Rural Prosperity Act 
of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF RURAL PROSPERITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Execu-
tive Office of the President the Office of Rural Prosperity 
(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’). 
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(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Office is to ad-
dress the social, economic, and community well-being and 
resilience of rural areas in the United States by addressing 
unique structural challenges experienced by rural commu-
nities, including housing, education, healthcare, small 
business development, and job creation. 
(c) CHIEF RURAL ADVISOR.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 
by the Chief Rural Advisor, who shall be appointed 
by the President. 
(2) COMPENSATION.—The Chief Rural Advisor 
shall be compensated at the rate provided for level 
II of the Executive Schedule in section 5313 of title 
5, United States Code. 
(d) DUTIES.—The Chief Rural Advisor shall— 
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this Act, develop, and not less frequently 
than every 3 years thereafter, update, a comprehen-
sive strategy for rural development across the Exec-
utive Branch, which shall— 
(A) identify the most pressing priorities of 
the United States to promote rural prosperity 
in the 10-year period following the date of sub-
mission of the report under subsection (f)(2); 
and 
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(B) describe the policy actions that will be 
taken by the Federal Government, across Fed-
eral agencies and programs, to accelerate and 
support social and economic prosperity in rural 
areas; 
(2) using the metrics developed under sub-
section 
(e), 
develop 
whole-of-government 
rec-
ommendations to improve the return on investment 
of Federal resources and engagement relating to the 
needs of rural areas in the United States; 
(3) make recommendations to the President on 
coordinating, streamlining, and leveraging Federal 
investments in rural areas to increase the impact of 
Federal dollars to improve economic opportunities 
and the quality of life in rural areas in the United 
States; 
(4) coordinate, and improve community-level 
outcomes and return on investment of, Federal en-
gagement relating to the needs of rural areas in the 
United States with stakeholders based in rural com-
munities, including— 
(A) agricultural organizations; 
(B) small businesses; 
(C) education and training institutions; 
(D) health care providers; 
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(E) telecommunications services providers; 
(F) electric service providers; 
(G) transportation providers; 
(H) research and land-grant institutions; 
(I) law enforcement agencies; 
(J) State, local, and Tribal governments 
(including a Native village and a Native Cor-
poration, as those terms are defined in section 
3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1602)); and 
(K) nongovernmental organizations; 
(5) coordinate Federal efforts directed toward 
the growth and development of rural geographic re-
gions that encompass metropolitan and nonmetro-
politan areas; 
(6) identify and facilitate rural economic oppor-
tunities associated with energy transitions, outdoor 
recreation, and other conservation-related activities; 
(7) identify common economic and social chal-
lenges faced by rural communities that could be 
overcome through better coordination of existing 
Federal and non-Federal resources; and 
(8) convene public hearings (including with the 
power to call witnesses and request documents from 
Federal agencies) on the state of rural areas in the 
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