I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5350 
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize 
the Secretary of Agriculture to award grants to benefit the Appalachia 
region, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 20, 2018 
Mr. GRIFFITH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to award 
grants to benefit the Appalachia region, 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 ‘‘Appalachia Oppor-
tunity Grants Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. APPALACHIA INNOVATION GRANTS. 
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 379I. APPALACHIA INNOVATION GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a unit of local government in the region. 
‘‘(2) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means the 
Appalachian region (as defined in section 14102(a) 
of title 40, United States Code). 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award grants to 
eligible entities to convene groups of public and private 
entities to collaborate in carrying out regional projects to 
accomplish positive economic and community impacts in 
the region. 
‘‘(c) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under subsection (b), an eligible entity— 
‘‘(A) shall convene as part of the collabo-
rative group representatives of each of— 
‘‘(i) a local economic development 
board or office in the region; 
‘‘(ii) a private company or association; 
and 
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‘‘(iii) an institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 101 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001)) in the region; and 
‘‘(B) may convene as part of the collabo-
rative group representatives of other entities 
(such as venture capital firms, nonprofit organi-
zations, and philanthropic organizations) that 
the eligible entity determines are important to 
the goal of the regional project described in 
subsection (d)(2). 
‘‘(2) REFERRAL PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
assist in the formation of a collaborative group 
under paragraph (1) by establishing a referral 
process under which a private company or asso-
ciation seeking to invest in a particular area in 
the region is matched with an eligible entity lo-
cated in that area. 
‘‘(B) DATABASE
OF
POTENTIAL
INVES-
TORS.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary may— 
‘‘(i) establish and maintain a database 
of private companies and associations seek-
ing to invest in the region; and 
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‘‘(ii) coordinate with other Federal 
agencies, including the Department of 
Commerce, to register inquiries— 
‘‘(I) that are made to those agen-
cies by private companies and associa-
tions seeking to invest in the region; 
and 
‘‘(II) in the database described in 
clause (i). 
‘‘(d) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—A regional project 
carried out by a collaborative group under subsection (b) 
shall— 
‘‘(1) involve not fewer than 2 municipalities 
that share a border; and 
‘‘(2) complete a specific activity that has as a 
goal— 
‘‘(A) job creation in the region; 
‘‘(B) expansion of the capacity of post-sec-
ondary education in the region; 
‘‘(C) growth of tourism in the region; 
‘‘(D) improving public health in the region; 
or 
‘‘(E) upgrading regional infrastructure. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that has 
convened a collaborative group described in sub-
section (c)(1) and identified an activity for a re-
gional project described in subsection (d)(2) may 
submit to the Secretary an application that in-
cludes— 
‘‘(A) a detailed description of— 
‘‘(i) a timeline for the completion of 
the regional project; and 
‘‘(ii) the responsibilities of each mem-
ber of the collaborative group in carrying 
out the regional project; 
‘‘(B) evidence that the collaborative group 
is a public-private partnership; 
‘‘(C) evidence that the collaborative group 
will maintain intermunicipality cooperation; 
‘‘(D) a description of the reasons that the 
eligible entity requires Federal funds; 
‘‘(E) evidence that the eligible entity has 
previously sought funding from State, local, or 
private programs; 
‘‘(F) a description of the source of non- 
Federal funds for the regional project; 
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‘‘(G) a description of the positive economic 
or community impact (including relating to edu-
cation) of the regional project; 
‘‘(H) an assessment of the assets and 
weaknesses of the community in which the re-
gional project will be implemented; 
‘‘(I) a regional strategic plan that— 
‘‘(i) takes into account the assessment 
described in subparagraph (H); and 
‘‘(ii) includes an analysis of the align-
ment of the regional project with the re-
gional strategic plan; and 
‘‘(J) evidence, with full transparency and 
credibility, of minimal obstruction to the com-
pletion of the project design phase described in 
subsection (f)(2)(A) by not later than 1 year 
after the date on which the eligible entity re-
ceives the grant. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri-
ority to applications submitted under paragraph (1) 
that describe a positive, measurable economic im-
pact. 
‘‘(f) GRANT FUNDS.— 
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(b) shall provide non-Federal funding equal to not 
less than 10 percent of the amount of the grant. 
‘‘(4) RESERVATION
OF
GRANT
FUNDS.—The 
Secretary shall reserve 20 percent of the funds made 
available under subsection (h) for each fiscal year to 
award grants to eligible entities that convene col-
laborative groups that include a representative of a 
private company or association that is located in the 
region. 
‘‘(g) REVIEW OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE 
REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a review of the implementation 
of this section for— 
‘‘(A) the 2-year period beginning on the 
date on which the Secretary begins to accept 
applications for grants under this section; and 
‘‘(B) each 4-year period thereafter. 
‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall submit to Congress an annual report describ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) funding decisions under this section; 
‘‘(B) a justification for each grant awarded 
under this section; and 
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‘‘(C) with respect to each regional project 
that has received a grant under this section, the 
extent to which— 
‘‘(i) benchmarks for the project have 
been met in accordance with the timeline 
for the project; and 
‘‘(ii) the project may be considered an 
example to other municipalities desiring a 
grant under this section. 
‘‘(h) FUNDING.—Of amounts made available for the 
Dislocated Worker National Reserve fund under section 
132(a)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor-
tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3172(a)(2)(A)), $100,000,000 shall 
be used to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 
2018 through 2027.’’. 
Æ 
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