‘‘(I) not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Re-
build Rural America Act of 2023— 
‘‘(aa) the one or more appli-
cable States; and 
‘‘(bb) the applicable State 
offices of the rural development 
mission area; or 
‘‘(II) after the date described in 
subclause (I), the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) APPROVAL.— 
‘‘(i) STATES.—The one or more 
States that receive an application under 
subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)(aa), in coordina-
tion with the applicable State offices of the 
rural development mission area, shall ap-
prove the Council as eligible to receive a 
rural partnership block grant if— 
‘‘(I) the requirements under sub-
section (b) for the composition of the 
membership of a Council are satisfied; 
and 
‘‘(II) the area to be represented 
by the Council— 
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‘‘(aa) is of practicable geo-
graphic size; and 
‘‘(bb) demonstrates evidence 
of economic, social, and cultural 
cooperation that enhances the po-
tential for comprehensive, asset- 
based regional development. 
‘‘(ii) 
SECRETARY.—Not 
less 
fre-
quently than once each year, the Secretary, 
in coordination with the applicable State 
offices of the rural development mission 
area, may approve applications received 
under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) if the re-
quirements described in clause (i) are sat-
isfied. 
‘‘(3) INDIAN RESERVATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a rural partnership block grant— 
‘‘(i) an Indian Tribe that has jurisdic-
tion over a reservation shall establish a 
rural partnership council in accordance 
with subsection (b); and 
‘‘(ii) that Council shall submit an ap-
plication to the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) APPROVAL.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an 
application that was submitted under sub-
paragraph (A)(ii) not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Rebuild 
Rural America Act of 2023, the Secretary, 
in coordination with the applicable State 
offices of the rural development mission 
area, shall approve the Council as eligible 
to receive a rural partnership block grant 
if the requirements under subsection (b) 
for the composition of the membership of 
a Council are satisfied. 
‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT
APPLICATIONS.— 
Not less frequently than once each year, 
the Secretary, in coordination with the ap-
plicable State offices of the rural develop-
ment mission area, may approve applica-
tions submitted under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
later than 180 days after the date of en-
actment of the Rebuild Rural America Act 
of 2023 if the requirements under sub-
section (b) for the composition of the mem-
bership of a Council are satisfied. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—Each Council— 
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‘‘(1) shall include one or more representatives 
of— 
‘‘(A) a District Organization (as defined in 
section 300.3 of title 13, Code of Federal Regu-
lations (or successor regulations)) or a com-
parable regional planning organization if there 
is no applicable District Organization; 
‘‘(B) one or more units of local govern-
ment, or one or more entities designated by a 
unit of local government, within the applicable 
area; and 
‘‘(C) a public or nonprofit organization; 
‘‘(2) may include one or more representatives 
of— 
‘‘(A) an economic development or other 
community or labor organization; 
‘‘(B) a financial institution, including a 
community development financial institution (as 
defined in section 103 of the Community Devel-
opment Banking and Financial Institutions Act 
of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702)); 
‘‘(C) a philanthropic organization; 
‘‘(D) a rural cooperative; 
‘‘(E) an entity with experience in the de-
velopment of cooperatives; 
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‘‘(F) an institution of higher education; 
‘‘(G) elementary or secondary education 
and kindergarten or pre-kindergarten centers; 
‘‘(H) a private entity; 
‘‘(I) a Tribal organization; 
‘‘(J) a metropolitan planning organization 
(as defined in section 134(b) of title 23, United 
States Code); 
‘‘(K) any other regional planning organiza-
tion; or 
‘‘(L) any other entity, as determined to be 
appropriate by the Council; and 
‘‘(3) shall be composed of an odd number of 
members. 
‘‘(c) REVISIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not more frequently than 
once every 5 years, a Council may submit to the one 
or more applicable States, or to the Secretary in the 
case of a Council established by an Indian Tribe, an 
application to revise the geographic boundary of the 
applicable area represented by the Council. 
‘‘(2) FINAL APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—An ap-
plication submitted to one or more States under 
paragraph (1) shall be subject to final approval by 
the Secretary. 
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‘‘SEC. 385D. RURAL PARTNERSHIP BLOCK GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the Secretary shall allocate rural partner-
ship block grant funds to Councils proportionately 
based on the population of each area represented by 
a Council. 
‘‘(2) HIGH
POVERTY
RATES.—The Secretary 
shall allocate to a Council an amount equal to 3 
times the applicable amount under paragraph (1) 
with respect to each individual residing in a census 
tract, or a group of contiguous census tracts, that— 
‘‘(A) has a poverty rate of 20 percent or 
greater; and 
‘‘(B) is within or comprises the applicable 
area. 
‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall distribute 
rural partnership block grant funds annually to each 
Council during the term of the rural partnership block 
grant. 
‘‘(c) TERM.—A rural partnership block grant— 
‘‘(1) shall be for a term of 5 years; and 
‘‘(2) may be renewed. 
‘‘(d) GRANT AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Council shall enter 
into an agreement with the Secretary, under which 
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