,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dhcf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #cj1     
#bjbd,ms4 ,lummis 7for herself and ,mr4 
,barrasso7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,agriculture1      
,nutrition1 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill    
,to require the creation of a simplified
 ,department of ,agriculture grant form 
for use by rural communities4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,,usda ,grant ,simplification ,act  
of #bjbd4  #b4 ,definitions ,in this    
,act3 7#a7 ,department ,the term        
,department means the ,department of    
,agriculture4  7#b7 ,rural community    
7,a7 ,in general ,the term rural        
community means an incorporated         
municipality1 ,tribal area1 or          
territory-- 7i7 with a population of not
 more than #aj1jjj1 as determined by the
 ,bureau of the ,census in the most     
recent decennial census2 or  7ii7 that  
is not located in a metropolitan        

statistical area1 as designated by the  
,director of the ,office of ,management 
and ,budget4  7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term
 rural community includes a nonmunicipal
 publicly elected or appointed local    
infrastructure political subdivision    
described in clause 7i7 or 7ii7 of      
subparagraph 7,a71 including-- 7i7 a    
water district2  7ii7 an irrigation     
district2  7iii7 a road and bridge      
district2 and  7iv7 a fire district4    
7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary    
means the ,secretary of ,agriculture4   
7#d7 ,short form application ,the term  
short form application means the short  
form application described in section   
#c7;a74  #c4 ,creation of a standard    
short form application  7a7 ,in general 
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 and after   
soliciting input from rural communities 
in accordance with subsection 7b71 the  
,secretary shall create a standardized  
grant application short form for use by 
a rural community when applying for a   

grant under a grant program of the      
,department for which the rural         
community is otherwise eligible4  7b7   
,rural community input ,the ,secretary  
shall solicit input from a              
representative group of rural           
communities on the challenges faced by  
rural communities in finding and        
applying for grants from the            
,department1 including-- 7#a7 the length
 of applications2  7#b7 the information 
and documents requested by the          
application2  7#c7 the applicability of 
questions and requested materials to    
rural communities2 and  7#d7 any other  
consideration that the ,secretary       
determines to be necessary for the      
creation of the short form application4 
7c7 ,contents of short form application 
,the short form application shall-- 7#a7
 include-- 7,a7 basic information common
 to all applications for grants from the
 ,department for which rural communities
 are eligible2 and  7,b7 any other      
information the ,secretary1 in          

consultation with rural communities in  
accordance with subsection 7b71         
determines necessary to include2 and    
7#b7 exclude questions and requests for 
information that are not applicable to a
 rural community4  7d7 ,use of short    
form application  7#a7 ,grant program   
identification ,not later than #ij days 
after the creation of the short form    
application1 the ,secretary shall       
identify grant programs administered by 
the ,department for which-- 7,a7 rural  
communities are eligible to receive     
funds2 and  7,b7 the application        
requirements are in excess of those in  
the short form application4  7#b7       
,implementation ,except as provided in  
paragraph 7#c71 not later than #ahj days
 after the ,secretary identifies grant  
programs under paragraph 7#a71 the      
,secretary shall accept the short form  
application from a rural community for  
those programs4  7#c7 ,exception        
,paragraph 7#b7 shall not apply to a    
grant program identified under paragraph

 7#a7 for which changes to the          
application process are not feasible1   
including a grant program for which     
changes to the application process      
require rulemaking4