WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) joined Rep. Josh Riley (NY-19) in reintroducing the Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act. This bipartisan bill reauthorizes and makes improvements to the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program (RCDG), which helps individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives or other mutually owned businesses through Cooperative Development Centers.

"Cooperatives are the backbone of rural communities, providing critical services like healthcare, housing, and childcare,” said Congressman Valadao. “By strengthening federal support for these businesses, we can help our rural economies grow and ensure Central Valley families have access to the resources they need. I’m proud to reintroduce this bill with Congressman Riley to invest in the future of our rural communities.”

"Cooperatives put funding directly into the hands of the people who build and sustain our rural communities,” said Rep. Riley. “I’m proud to work across the aisle with Congressman Valadao on this commonsense, bipartisan effort to invest in Upstate New York and the Central Valley, not big corporations and monopolies.”

Background:

A cooperative is a business that is owned and controlled by people who use its services, often for the mutual benefit of a community. This model empowers rural communities to collectively address economic challenges and meet common needs. For instance, a rural community might establish a cooperative to collectively purchase bulk goods like seed and fertilizer, sell members’ farm products to larger markets, or offer utilities like electricity which would otherwise be unavailable to individual families.

The Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act reauthorizes the Rural Community Development Grant program and prioritizes cooperatives in RCDG awards. It also cuts burdensome red tape, steers funding toward underserved communities, and measures progress on cooperative development. Specifically, the bill:

• Reauthorizes funding for Rural Community Development Grants at $40 million annually from FY25 to FY29.
• Ensures scoring for grants does not disadvantage under-resourced organizations.
• Reduces regulatory burden by implementing multi-year grants.
• Prioritizes grants for socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities.
• Requires the Working Group on Cooperative Development submit an annual report detailing their activities to Congress.

Read the full bill here.

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