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‘‘(ii) 
developing 
multi-organization 
and multi-State approaches to addressing 
the cooperative and economic development 
needs of rural areas.’’; and 
(5) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘greater 
than’’ the 1st place it appears. 
(b) AUTHORITY TO AWARD MULTI-YEAR GRANTS.— 
Section 310(B)(e)(6) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)(6)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(6) Grants awarded to centers that have re-
ceived no prior funding under this subsection shall 
be made for a period of 1 year. The Secretary shall 
evaluate programs receiving assistance under this 
subsection. The Secretary may award grants for a 
period of more than 1 year, but not more than 3 
years, to centers that have successfully met the cri-
teria under paragraph (5).’’. 
(c) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND GRANT PERIOD FOR 1 
YEAR.—Section 310B(e) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)) 
is amended by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (9) 
as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively, and insert-
ing after paragraph (6) the following: 
‘‘(7) The Secretary may extend for only 1 addi-
tional 12-month period the period in which a grantee 
may use a grant made under this subsection.’’.
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(d) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.—Section 
310B(e) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)), as amended by 
subsection (c) of this section, is amended by redesignating 
paragraphs (9) and (10) as paragraphs (10) and (11), re-
spectively, and inserting after paragraph (9) the following: 
‘‘(10) The Secretary shall enter into a coopera-
tive research agreement with 1 or more qualified 
academic institutions in each fiscal year to conduct 
research on the national economic effects of all types 
of cooperatives.’’. 
(e) ADDRESSING NEEDS
OF MINORITY COMMU-
NITIES.—Section 310B(e) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)), 
as amended by subsections (c) and (d) of this section, is 
amended by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph 
(12) and inserting after paragraph (10) the following: 
‘‘(11)(A) If the total amount appropriated 
under paragraph (12) of this subsection for a fiscal 
year exceeds $7,500,000, the Secretary shall reserve 
an amount equal to 20 percent of the amount so ap-
propriated for grants for cooperative development 
centers, individual cooperatives, or groups of co-
operatives, serving socially disadvantaged (within the 
meaning of section 355(e)) communities, a majority 
of the boards of directors or governing boards of
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which are comprised of socially disadvantaged 
(withing such meaning) individuals. 
‘‘(B) To the extent that the Secretary deter-
mines that funds reserved under subparagraph (A) 
will not be used for grants described in subpara-
graph (A) because of insufficient applications for the 
grants, the Secretary shall use the funds as other-
wise authorized by this subsection.’’. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
310B(e)(12) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)(12)), as so 
redesignated by subsections (c) through (e) of this section, 
is amended by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 
SEC. 6010. CRITERIA TO BE APPLIED IN
PROVIDING 
LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES UNDER THE 
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY LOAN PROGRAM. 
Section 310B(g) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(9)(A) In providing loans and loan guarantees under 
this section, the Secretary shall consider an application 
more favorably when compared to other applications to the 
extent that the project described in the application sup-
ports community development and farm and ranch income 
by marketing, distributing, storing, aggregating, or proc-
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essing a locally or regionally produced agricultural prod-
uct. 
‘‘(B) In subparagraph (A), the term ‘locally or re-
gionally produced agricultural product’ means an agricul-
tural product— 
‘‘(I) which is produced and distributed in the 
locality or region where the finished product is mar-
keted; 
‘‘(ii) which has been shipped a total distance of 
400 or fewer miles, as determined by the Secretary; 
and 
‘‘(iii) about which the distributor has conveyed 
to the end-use consumers information regarding the 
origin of the product or production practices, or 
other valuable information.’’. 
SEC. 6011. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR 
RURAL AREAS PROGRAM. 
Section 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
FOR 
RURAL AREAS PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF NATIONAL NONPROFIT AG-
RICULTURAL
ASSISTANCE
INSTITUTION.—In this
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subsection, the term ‘national nonprofit agricultural 
assistance institution’ means an organization that— 
‘‘(A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 
from taxation under 501(a) of that Code; 
‘‘(B) has staff and offices in multiple re-
gions; 
‘‘(C) operates national sustainable agri-
culture technical assistance programs; and 
‘‘(D) provides the technical assistance 
through toll-free hotlines, a website, publica-
tions, and work shops. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a national appropriate technology transfer 
for rural areas program to assist agricultural pro-
ducers that are seeking information to help agricul-
tural producers— 
‘‘(A) reduce input costs; 
‘‘(B) conserve energy resources; 
‘‘(C) diversify operations through new en-
ergy crops and energy generation facilities; and 
‘‘(D) expand markets for the agricultural 
commodities produced by the producers through 
use of sustainable farming practices. 
‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
carry out the program under this subsection by 
making a grant to, or offering to enter into a 
cooperative agreement with, a national non-
profit agricultural assistance organization. 
‘‘(B) COST SHARE.—A grant made, or co-
operative agreement entered into, under sub-
paragraph (A) shall provide 100 percent of the 
cost of providing information pursuant to para-
graph (2). 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for 
each fiscal year.’’. 
SEC. 6012. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TECHNICAL INFRASTRUC-
TURE AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF RURAL 
HEALTH CARE FACILITIES. 
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981–2008r), as amended by 
section 5025 of this Act, is amended by inserting after 
section 365 the following:
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‘‘SEC. 366. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TECHNICAL INFRASTRUC-
TURE AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF RURAL 
HEALTH CARE FACILITIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
program to award grants to rural health facilities for the 
purpose of assisting the facilities in— 
‘‘(1) purchasing health information technology 
to improve quality in health care and patient safety; 
or 
‘‘(2) improving health care quality and patient 
safety, including the development of— 
‘‘(A) quality improvement support struc-
tures to assist rural health systems and profes-
sionals— 
‘‘(i) achieve greater integration of per-
sonal and population health services; and 
‘‘(ii) address safety, effectiveness, 
patient- or community-centeredness, timeli-
ness, efficiency, and equity; and 
‘‘(B) innovative approaches to the financ-
ing and delivery of health services to achieve 
rural health quality goals. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) HEALTH
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY.— 
The term ‘health information technology’ includes 
total expenditures incurred for—
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‘‘(A) purchasing, leasing, and installing 
computer software and hardware, including 
handheld computer technologies, and related 
services; 
‘‘(B) making improvements to computer 
software and hardware; 
‘‘(C) purchasing or leasing communications 
capabilities necessary for clinical data access, 
storage, and exchange; 
‘‘(D) services associated with acquiring, 
implementing, operating, or optimizing the use 
of computer software and hardware and clinical 
health care informatics systems; 
‘‘(E) providing education and training to 
eligible entity staff on information systems and 
technology designed to improve patient safety 
and quality of care; and 
‘‘(F) purchasing, leasing, subscribing, or 
servicing support to establish interoperability 
that— 
‘‘(i) integrates patient-specific clinical 
data with well-established national treat-
ment guidelines; 
‘‘(ii) provides ongoing, continuous 
quality improvement functions that allow
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providers to assess improvement rates over 
time and against averages for similar pro-
viders; and 
‘‘(iii) integrates with larger health 
networks. 
‘‘(2) RURAL
AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 
means any area of the United States that is not— 
‘‘(A) included within the boundaries of any 
city, town, borough, or village, whether incor-
porated or unincorporated, with a population of 
more than 20,000 inhabitants; or 
‘‘(B) the urbanized area contiguous and 
adjacent to such a city or town. 
‘‘(3) RURAL
HEALTH
FACILITY.—The term 
‘rural health facility’ means any of the following: 
‘‘(A) SOLE
COMMUNITY
HOSPITAL.—A 
hospital (as defined in section 1886(a)(2) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(a)(2))). 
‘‘(B) CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITAL.—A crit-
ical access hospital (as defined in section 
1861(mm)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(mm)(1))). 
‘‘(C) FEDERALLY
QUALIFIED
HEALTH 
CENTER IN RURAL AREAS.—A federally quali-
fied health center (as defined in section
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1861(aa)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(4)) that is located in a rural 
area. 
‘‘(D) RURAL PHYSICIAN OR RURAL PHYSI-
CIAN GROUP PRACTICE.—A physician or physi-
cian group practice that is located in a rural 
area. 
‘‘(E) RURAL
HEALTH
CLINIC.—A rural 
health clinic (as defined in section 1861(aa)(2) 
of 
the 
Social 
Security 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1395x(aa)(2))). 
‘‘(F) MEDICARE DEPENDENT HOSPITAL.— 
A medicare-dependent, small rural hospital (as 
defined in section 1886(d)(5)(G)(iv) of the So-
cial 
Security 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1395ww(d)(5)(G)(iv))). 
‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Secretary shall deter-
mine the amount of a grant awarded under this section. 
‘‘(d) FURNISHING THE SECRETARY WITH INFORMA-
TION.—An eligible entity receiving a grant under this sec-
tion shall furnish the Secretary with such information as 
the Secretary may require to— 
‘‘(1) evaluate the project for which the grant is 
made; and
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‘‘(2) ensure that assistance provided under the 
grant is expended for the purposes for which the 
grant is made. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this section not more than $30,000,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’. 
SEC. 6013. RURAL ENTREPRENEUR AND MICROENTER-
PRISE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981–2008r), as amended by 
sections 5025 and 6012 of this Act, is amended by insert-
ing after section 366 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 367. RURAL ENTREPRENEUR AND MICROENTER-
PRISE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ECONOMICALLY
DISADVANTAGED
MICRO-
ENTREPRENEUR.—The term ‘economically disadvan-
taged microentrepreneur’ means an owner, majority 
owner, or developer of a microenterprise that has the 
ability to compete in the private sector but has been 
impaired because of diminished capital and credit 
opportunities, as compared to other microentre-
preneurs in the industry.
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‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
‘‘(3) INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘intermediary’ 
means a nonprofit entity that provides assistance— 
‘‘(A) to a microenterprise development or-
ganization; or 
‘‘(B) for a microenterprise development 
program. 
‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘low-income individual’ means an individual with an 
income (adjusted for family size) of not more than 
80 percent of the national median income. 
‘‘(5) MICROCREDIT.—The term ‘microcredit’ 
means a business loan or loan guarantee of not more 
than $50,000 that is provided to a rural entre-
preneur. 
‘‘(6) MICROENTERPRISE.—The term ‘micro-
enterprise’ means— 
‘‘(A) a sole proprietorship; or 
‘‘(B) a business entity with not more than 
10 full-time-equivalent employees. 
‘‘(7) MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT ORGA-
NIZATION.—