‘‘(B) serves rural areas for the purpose of 
enhancing the ability of the organization to pro-
vide training, technical assistance, and other re-
lated services to rural entrepreneurs. 
‘‘(14) 
RURAL
ENTREPRENEUR.—The 
term 
‘rural entrepreneur’ means a microentrepreneur, or 
prospective microentrepreneur— 
‘‘(A) the principal place of business of 
which is in a rural area; and 
‘‘(B) that is unable to obtain sufficient 
training, technical assistance, or microcredit 
elsewhere, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(15) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 
the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. 
‘‘(16) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘tribal 
government’ means the governing body of an Indian 
tribe. 
‘‘(b) RURAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND
MICRO-
ENTERPRISE PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a rural entrepreneurship and microenterprise 
program. 
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‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 
shall be to provide low-income individuals and mod-
erate-income individuals with— 
‘‘(A) the skills necessary to establish new 
small businesses in rural areas; and 
‘‘(B) continuing technical and financial as-
sistance as individuals and business starting or 
operating small businesses. 
‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
make a grant under the program to a qualified 
organization— 
‘‘(i) to provide training, operational 
support, or a rural capacity building serv-
ice to a qualified organization to assist the 
qualified organization in developing micro-
enterprise training, technical assistance, 
market development assistance, and other 
related services, primarily for business with 
5 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees; 
‘‘(ii) to assist in researching and de-
veloping the best practices in delivering 
training, technical assistance, and micro-
credit to rural entrepreneurs; and 
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‘‘(iii) to carry out such other projects 
and activities as the Secretary determines 
to be consistent with the purposes of this 
section. 
‘‘(B) SUBGRANTS.—Subject to such regu-
lations as the Secretary may promulgate, a 
qualified organization that receives a grant 
under this paragraph may use the grant to pro-
vide assistance to other qualified organizations, 
such as small or emerging qualified organiza-
tions. 
‘‘(C) DIVERSITY.—In making grants under 
this paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure, to 
the maximum extent practicable, that grant re-
cipients include qualified organizations— 
‘‘(i) of varying sizes; and 
‘‘(ii) that serve racially- and eth-
nically-diverse populations. 
‘‘(D) COST SHARING.— 
‘‘(i) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal 
share of the cost of a project carried out 
using funds from a grant made under this 
paragraph shall be 75 percent. 
‘‘(ii) 
FORM
OF
NON-FEDERAL 
SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the 
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cost of a project described in clause (i) 
may be provided— 
‘‘(I) in cash (including through 
fees, grants (including community de-
velopment block grants), and gifts); or 
‘‘(II) in kind. 
‘‘(4) RURAL MICROLOAN PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out 
the program, the Secretary may carry out a 
rural microloan program. 
‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the rural 
microloan program shall be to provide technical 
and financial assistance to sole proprietorships 
and small businesses located in rural areas with 
a particular focus on those businesses with 5 or 
fewer full-time equivalent employees. 
‘‘(C) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—In car-
rying out the rural microloan program, the Sec-
retary may— 
‘‘(i) make direct loans to qualified or-
ganizations for the purpose of making 
short-term, fixed interest rate microloans 
to startup, newly established, and growing 
rural microbusiness concerns; and 
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‘‘(ii) in conjunction with those loans, 
provide grants in accordance with subpara-
graph (E) to those qualified organizations 
for the purpose of providing intensive mar-
keting, management, and technical assist-
ance to small business concerns that are 
borrowers under this paragraph. 
‘‘(D) LOAN DURATION; INTEREST RATES; 
CONDITIONS.— 
‘‘(i) LOAN DURATION.—A loan made 
by the Secretary under this paragraph 
shall be for a term of 20 years. 
‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE INTEREST RATES.— 
A loan made by the Secretary under this 
paragraph to a qualified organization shall 
bear an annual interest rate of at least 1 
percent. 
‘‘(iii) DEFERRAL
OF
INTEREST
AND 
PRINCIPAL.—The Secretary may permit 
the deferral of payments, for principal and 
interest, on a loan made under this para-
graph for a period of not more than 2 
years, beginning on the date on which the 
loan was made. 
‘‘(E) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as other-
wise provided in this section, each qualified 
organization that receives a loan under this 
paragraph shall be eligible to receive a 
grant to provide marketing, management, 
and technical assistance to small business 
concerns that are borrowers or potential 
borrowers under this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM
AMOUNT
OF
GRANT 
FOR
MICROENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT 
ORGANIZATIONS.—Each 
microenterprise 
development organization that receives a 
loan under this paragraph shall receive an 
annual grant in an amount equal to not 
more than 25 percent of the total out-
standing balance of loans made to the 
microenterprise development organization 
under this paragraph, as of the date of 
provision of the grant. 
‘‘(iii) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—As a condi-
tion of any grant made to a qualified 
organization under this subparagraph, 
the Secretary shall require the quali-
fied organization to match not less 
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than 15 percent of the total amount 
of the grant. 
‘‘(II) SOURCES.—In addition to 
cash from non-Federal sources, a 
matching share provided by the quali-
fied organization may include indirect 
costs or in-kind contributions funded 
under non-Federal programs. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 
10 percent of assistance received by a qualified organiza-
tion for a fiscal year under this section may be used to 
pay administrative expenses. 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and on Octo-
ber 1, 2008, and each October 1 thereafter through 
October 1, 2012, out of any funds in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to carry out 
this section $50,000,000, to remain available until 
expended. 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount 
made available by paragraph (1) for each fiscal 
year— 
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‘‘(A) not less than $30,000,000 shall be 
available for use in carrying out subsection 
(b)(3); and 
‘‘(B) not less than $20,000,000 shall be 
available for use in carrying out subsection 
(b)(4), of which not more than $7,000,000 shall 
be used to support direct loans. 
‘‘(C) RECEIPT
AND
ACCEPTANCE.—The 
Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac-
cept, and shall use to carry out this section the 
funds transferred under paragraph (1), without 
further appropriation.’’. 
SEC. 253. ENHANCING RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
(a) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall use funds made available under subsection (d) to pro-
vide funds for applications that are pending on the date 
of enactment of this Act for— 
(1) water or waste disposal grants or direct 
loans under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 306(a) 
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)); 
(2) emergency community water assistance 
grants under section 306A of that Act (7 U.S.C. 
1926a); 
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(3) community facilities grants and direct loans 
under paragraphs (1), (19), (20), (21) of section 
306(a) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)) that support 
projects that assist rural first responders, as defined 
by the Secretary of Agriculture; 
(4) broadband access loans under title VI of the 
Rural Electrification Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.); 
and 
(5) distance learning and telemedicine grants 
under chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XXII of the 
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 
1990 (7 U.S.C. 950aaa et seq.). 
(b) LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) APPROPRIATED
AMOUNTS.—Funds made 
available under this section shall be available to the 
Secretary of Agriculture to provide funds for appli-
cations for loans and grants described in subsection 
(a) that are pending on the date of enactment of 
this Act only to the extent that funds for the loans 
and grants appropriated in the annual appropria-
tions Act for fiscal years 2008 and 2009, as appro-
priate, have been exhausted. 
(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
of Agriculture may use funds made available under 
this section to provide funds for a pending applica-
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tion for a loan or grant described in subsection (a) 
only if the Secretary of Agriculture processes, re-
views, and approves the application in accordance 
with regulations in effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
(c) EXCLUSION
OF CERTAIN PENDING APPLICA-
TIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘application’’ does not 
include an application for a loan or grant that, as of the 
date of enactment of this Act, is in the preapplication 
phase of consideration under regulations of the Secretary 
of Agriculture in effect on the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(d) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred-
it Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make 
available to carry out this section $50,000,000 in fiscal 
year 2008, $75,000,000 in fiscal year 2009, $100,000,000 
in fiscal years 2010 and 2011, and $75,000,000 in fiscal 
year 2012. 
Subtitle F—Nutrition 
SEC. 261. EXCLUSION OF COMBAT-RELATED MILITARY PAY 
FROM COUNTABLE INCOME. 
Section 5(d) of the food stamp act of 2007 (7 U.S.C. 
2014(d)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and (18)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(18)’’; and 
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(2) by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: 
‘‘, and (19) any additional payment received under chapter 
5 of title 37, United States Code, by a member of the 
United States Armed Forces deployed to a designated 
combat zone for the duration of the members deployment 
if the additional pay is the result of deployment to or while 
serving in a combat zone, and it was not received imme-
diately prior to serving in the combat zone’’. 
SEC. 
262. 
STRENGTHENING 
THE 
FOOD 
PURCHASING 
POWER OF LOW-INCOME AMERICANS. 
Section 5(e)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2014(e)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)(ii) by striking ‘‘not 
less than $134’’ and all that follows to the end of 
the clause and inserting the following: 
‘‘not less than $149, $255, $210, and 
$131, respectively. For October 1, 2008 
and each fiscal year thereafter, such 
amounts shall be adjusted to the nearest 
lower dollar increment to reflect changes in 
the Consumer Price Index for all urban 
consumers published by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, for items other than food, 
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