This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act.

Section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)U.S. Code — Title 7, Section 1932(e)View official source on GovInfo) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following: (C) Cooperative development The term cooperative development means activities including outreach, education, training, and technical assistance, to support the startup, expansion, or ongoing sustainability of new and existing cooperatives.; (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting, and award maximum points in scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy the requirements of paragraph (5)(F), before if the plan; (3) in paragraph (5), by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: (D) commit to providing technical assistance and other services to socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities;; (4) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking If the Secretary determines it to be in the best interest of the program, the and inserting The; (5) in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall analyze the data resulting from the research, and include the data and the analysis in the annual report submitted by the interagency working group under paragraph (12).; (6) in paragraph (12), by adding at the end the following: Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this sentence and annually thereafter, the interagency working group shall submit to the Congress a report describing the activities carried out by the working group.; and (7) in paragraph (13), by striking 2014 through 2023 and inserting 2025 through 2029.