S. 3075 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Oct 30, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryExtends funding for rural cooperative development grants
This bill keeps funding flowing through 2029 for a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that gives grants to nonprofits helping people start and grow rural cooperatives—businesses owned and run by a group of people working together. The bill also clarifies what cooperative development means, encourages grant applications that raise matching funds from private sources, and requires the government to analyze data about how cooperatives affect the national economy and report back to Congress each year.
How it affects you
If you live in a rural area and work with or want to start a cooperative business, this keeps resources available through nonprofits that provide training and technical help. The bill itself doesn't change how most people live day-to-day, but it aims to strengthen the organizations that support rural communities by keeping this funding program going.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Oct 30, 2025)
Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act
This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and modifies the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) Program. This Department of Agriculture (USDA) program provides grants to nonprofit institutions to help individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses through Rural Cooperative Development Centers.
USDA may give an additional preference to grant applications that commit to providing a 25% matching contribution for the center with private funds and in-kind contributions. Specifically, USDA may award the maximum points in application scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy this requirement.
Under the bill, cooperative development includes activities (e.g., outreach, education, training, and technical assistance) to support the startup, expansion, or ongoing sustainability of new and existing cooperatives. Current law does not define cooperative development.
The bill directs the RCDG interagency working group to submit an annual report to Congress on its activities.
Finally, the program currently includes cooperative research program requirements to collect data on the effects of all types of cooperatives on the national economy. Under the bill, USDA must analyze the data resulting from the research and include the data and analysis in the annual report to Congress.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 3075
A BILL
Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act
Sponsor: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) · Introduced Oct 30, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Oct 30, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”