,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cjge  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #cj1  
#bjbe ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto 7for herself  
and ,mrs4 ,fischer7 introduced the      
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,consolidated  
,farm and ,rural ,development ,act to   
reauthorize rural cooperative           
development grants4  #a4  ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,strengthening ,rural ,cooperatives and 
,communities ,act4  #b4                 
,reauthorization of rural cooperative   
development grants  ,section #caj;,b7e7 
of the ,consolidated ,farm and ,rural   
,development ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4         
#aicb7;e77 is amended--  7#a7 in        
paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 by redesignating  
subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 as          
subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c71            
respectively2 and  7,b7 by inserting    
before subparagraph 7,b7 7as so         

redesignated7 the following3  7,a7      
,cooperative development  ,the term     
cooperative development means           
activities1 including outreach1         
education1 training1 and technical      
assistance1 to support the startup1     
expansion1 or ongoing sustainability of 
new and existing cooperatives4  2  7#b7 
in paragraph 7#d71 in the matter        
preceding subparagraph 7,a71 in the     
second sentence1 by inserting 1 and     
award maximum points in scoring criteria
 to applicants that satisfy the         
requirements of paragraph 7#e77;,f71    
before if the plan2  7#c7 in paragraph  
7#f77;,b71 by striking ,if the          
,secretary determines it to be in the   
best interest of the program1 the and   
inserting ,the2  7#d7 in paragraph      
7#aj7-- 7,a7 by striking ,the ,secretary
 and inserting the following3  7,a7  ,in
 general  ,the ,secretary  2 and  7,b7  
by adding at the end the following3     
7,b7  ,analysis  ,the ,secretary shall--
 7i7 analyze the data resulting from the

 research conducted under subparagraph  
7,a72 and  7ii7 include the data and the
 analysis described in clause 7i7 in the
 annual report submitted by the         
interagency working group under         
paragraph 7#ab74  2  7#e7 in paragraph  
7#ab7-- 7,a7 by striking ,not later and 
inserting the following3  7,a7  ,in     
general  ,not later  2 and  7,b7 by     
adding at the end the following3  7,b7  
,annual reports  ,not later than #ahj   
days after the date of enactment of this
 subparagraph1 and annually thereafter1 
the interagency working group described 
in subparagraph 7,a7 shall submit to    
,congress a report describing the       
activities carried out by the           
interagency working group4  2 and  7#f7 
in paragraph 7#ac71 by striking #bjad   
through #bjbc and inserting #bjbe       
through #bjbi4