WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, alongside U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), today reintroduced the Rural Innovation for a Stronger Economy (RISE) Reauthorization Act, bicameral legislation to 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 House.
“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.”
“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.”
“We know that rural communities are often at a disadvantage when competing for the federal investments needed to create good paying jobs, strengthen business development, and build long-term economic capacity,” said Rep. Figures. “That’s why I am proud to join with my colleagues to lead a bicameral effort to not only reauthorize the RISE program, but to provide an additional $50 million in federal funding for this vital program. Our legislation will help to ensure that rural regions, especially small and underserved communities, continue to have access to the resources needed to create jobs and strengthen their local economies.”
“Rural communities have the talent and the work ethic, but too often lack access to the capital needed to bring new ideas and businesses to scale. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, strengthening rural economies has been a top priority. As an original co-lead of the RISE Reauthorization Act, I’m building on that work – including the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program Act – to help drive investments that create jobs, grow small businesses, and expand economic opportunities,” said Rep. Mannion.
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. The RISE Reauthorization Act would 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.
The RISE Reauthorization Act is 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.
Learn more about the RISE Reauthorization Act of 2026.
Read and download the full text of the bill.
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