Rural Recovery Act of 2025

The Rural Recovery Act of 2025 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to create a Rural Development Disaster Recovery Technical Assistance Program. The program would provide technical help to eligible rural communities recovering from major disasters (as declared under the Stafford Act). Services would focus on planning, identifying solutions and funding sources, helping communities apply for federal and state disaster recovery assistance (e.g., from the Economic Development Administration, FEMA, and state agencies), addressing application denials, and implementing funded projects. The assistance could cover infrastructure and facilities such as telecommunications, water and housing, energy, community facilities, business infrastructure, and local government infrastructure. The effort would be coordinated with state governments and local stakeholders to ensure equitable distribution and would operate for an initial three-year period after a disaster, with possible extensions. The program would be funded with an annual authorization of $50 million and allocations to eligible rural communities based on a formula tied to the population affected by the disaster (as measured by the decennial census). It envisions partnerships with state offices and eligible contractors (public bodies or eligible private nonprofits) and prioritizes certain contractors. Definitions emphasize rural communities as census-designated places with populations under 20,000, though the Secretary may adjust this definition as needed. The act would also permit more than one eligible rural community within a disaster area to receive assistance.