847 
level of broadband service established 
under subsection (e); 
‘‘(ii) give the highest priority to appli-
cants that offer to provide broadband serv-
ice to the greatest proportion of unserved 
rural households or rural households that 
do not have residential broadband service 
that meets the minimum acceptable level of 
broadband service established under sub-
section (e), as— 
‘‘(I) certified by the affected 
community, city, county, or designee; 
or 
‘‘(II) demonstrated on— 
‘‘(aa) the broadband map of 
the affected State if the map con-
tains address-level data; or 
‘‘(bb) the National Broad-
band Map if address-level data is 
unavailable; and 
‘‘(iii) provide equal consideration to 
all qualified applicants, including those 
that have not previously received grants, 
loans, or loan guarantees under paragraph 
(1). 
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848 
‘‘(B) OTHER.—After giving priority to the 
applicants described in subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall then give priority to projects 
that serve rural communities— 
‘‘(i) with a population of less than 
20,000 permanent residents; 
‘‘(ii) experiencing outmigration; 
‘‘(iii) with a high percentage of low-in-
come residents; and 
‘‘(iv) that are isolated from other sig-
nificant population centers.’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 
grant under this section, the project that is the 
subject of the grant shall be carried out in a 
rural area. 
‘‘(B) MAXIMUM.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (D), the amount of any grant 
made under this section shall not exceed 50 
percent of the development costs of the project 
for which the grant is provided. 
‘‘(C) GRANT RATE.—The Secretary shall 
establish the grant rate for each project in ac-
cordance with regulations issued by the Sec-
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849 
retary that shall provide for a graduated scale 
of grant rates that establish higher rates for 
projects in communities that have— 
‘‘(i) remote locations; 
‘‘(ii) low community populations; 
‘‘(iii) low-income levels; 
‘‘(iv) developed the applications of the 
communities with the participation of com-
binations of stakeholders, including— 
‘‘(I) State, local, and tribal gov-
ernments; 
‘‘(II) nonprofit institutions; 
‘‘(III) institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
‘‘(IV) private entities; and 
‘‘(V) philanthropic organizations; 
and 
‘‘(v) targeted funding to provide the 
minimum acceptable level of broadband 
service established under subsection (e) in 
all or part of an unserved community that 
is below that minimum acceptable level of 
broadband service. 
‘‘(D) SECRETARIAL
AUTHORITY
TO
AD-
JUST.—The Secretary may make grants of up 
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850 
to 75 percent of the development costs of the 
project for which the grant is provided to an el-
igible entity if the Secretary determines that 
the project serves a remote or low-income area 
that does not have access to broadband service 
from any provider of broadband service (includ-
ing the applicant).’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 
by striking ‘‘loan or’’ and inserting ‘‘grant, 
loan, or’’; 
(ii) by striking clause (i) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(i) demonstrate the ability— 
‘‘(I) to furnish, improve in order 
to meet the minimum acceptable level 
of 
broadband 
service 
established 
under subsection (e), or extend broad-
band service to all or part of an 
unserved rural area or an area below 
the minimum acceptable level of 
broadband service established under 
subsection (e); or 
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941 
SEC. 7404. COMPETITIVE, SPECIAL, AND FACILITIES RE-
SEARCH GRANT ACT. 
Section 2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities 
Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(11)(A)— 
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’; and 
(B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘integrated 
research’’ and all that follows through ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting ‘‘integrated research, extension, 
and education activities; and’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(l) STREAMLINING GRANT APPLICATION PROC-
ESS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
a report that includes— 
‘‘(1) an analysis of barriers that exist in the 
competitive grants process administered by the Na-
tional Institute of Food and Agriculture that prevent 
eligible institutions and organizations with limited 
institutional capacity from successfully applying and 
competing for competitive grants; and 
‘‘(2) specific recommendations for future steps 
that the Department can take to streamline the 
competitive grants application process so as to re-
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