Gillibrand, Delgado promote Rebuild Rural America Act
The Rebuild Rural America Act, designed to improve the way the federal government supports development projects in small towns and rural communities to better fit their specific needs, is being put forwards by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Antonio Delgado.
The two announced the bill Monday in Hudson and said they will formally introduce it in Congress next week.
“Rural communities are at the very heart of New York, and their development is key to helping our state, and our nation, succeed,” said Gillibrand, DN.Y. “These communities face complex challenges that demand comprehensive and long-term solutions, but the current federal grant system is too narrow and inflexible to fully address their needs.”
Said Delgado, D-Rhinebeck: “This bill gives rural communities the fund
ing, flexibility and technical assistance to do what they know will best help their towns, including building firehouses, repaving sidewalks, replacing old and
failing water systems, and supporting economic development to make sure our upstate communities have what they need to grow and thrive.”
The measure would create a new $50 billion program, called the Rural Future Partnership Fund, to provide noncompetitive,
five-year, renewable block grants to certified rural regions to implement locally developed regional revitalization plans.
It would encourage rural areas to develop comprehensive, collaborative and locally driven community and economic development plans that revitalize
infrastructure, provide support for public services and job training, and foster local entrepreneurship.
It would require interested rural areas to form a Regional Rural Partnership Council to bring together all parties important to regional development.