WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Antonio Delgado (D, NY-19) have announced they are trying again to have their Rebuild Rural America Act approved.
If adopted, it would create a $50 billion program – the Rural Future Partnership Fund – to provide non-competitive, five-year, renewable grants to certified rural regions to implement locally-developed regional revitalization plans.
Delgado said the bill would launch a Rural Future Corps in coordination with AmeriCorps to assist rural communities with implementing Rural Partnership Plans.
“It would deliver resources directly to counties, towns and villages to address issues like food insecurity, high unemployment, a lack of rural broadband, affordable housing and access to reliable healthcare,” he said, noting the funds would go directly to localities.
Gillibrand said due to the pandemic, rural communities “are grappling with unprecedented financial and public health challenges.” She said they will “face a serious downturn unless they receive federal assistance.”
The senator said their bill would provide “a lifeline for rural communities to access the federal resources needed to address the complex issues they face.
