Gillibrand Introduces Legislation To Expand USDA Grant Program, Support Rural Communities And Create Jobs

Feb 17, 2026
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), alongside Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), reintroduced theRural Innovation for a Stronger Economy (RISE) Reauthorization Act,legislation that would reauthorize and improve the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) RISE Program. U.S. Representatives Shomari Figures (D-AL-02) and John Mannion (D-NY-22) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Rural communities are the backbone of our Upstate economy, and it is vital that the federal government invests resources to help their economies grow and thrive,”said Senator Gillibrand. “Reauthorizing the RISE Grant Program will help strengthen rural economies, expand opportunity, and support local efforts to create good-paying jobs and grow small businesses. I am proud to join Senator Welch in leading this effort and look forward to getting it across the finish line.”
“Rural communities lack the financial resources they need to pursue economic and business opportunities—as a result, their ideas often get left behind,”said Senator Welch. “The RISE program has been game-changing in helping rural Americans achieve their economic dreams. We need to reauthorize this program to create more business opportunities and good-paying jobs in every community.”
Created in 2018, the RISE program provides federal grant funding to rural job accelerator partnerships that support in-demand job training, business formation and expansion efforts, and overall economic growth. TheRISE Reauthorization Actwould provide the RISE program with a minimum of $50 million in discretionary funding, in addition to increasing the diversity of industry bases the program awards. The bill would also ease requirements for proposed job accelerator partnerships to help more diverse communities access the benefits of the program.
TheRISE Reauthorization Actis endorsed by the Center on Rural Innovation.
“Rural America is ready for new models for economic development and the Rural Innovation Stronger Together (RISE) is the perfect program to support small town efforts to build economies of the future. Despite low funding to date, the grants from the USDA RISE program have been transformational. We are excited to see what reauthorization and new funding can bring to build on this momentum,”said Matt Dunne,Founder and Executive Director,Center on Rural Innovation.
Read the full text of the billhere.
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