Lets more communities qualify for federal rural development programs by raising population limits to 25,000
This bill would make the definition of "rural" the same across federal programs by raising population limits to 25,000 people. This would let more communities get programs like broadband expansion, water systems, and housing help. Right now, different programs use different population limits from 2,500 to 20,000 people. The change would also not count military base and prison populations when deciding if an area counts as rural.
Currently, federal programs define "rural" using different population thresholds ranging from 2,500 to 20,000 people, and some count military base and prison populations while others don't. After this bill, most programs would use a single standard of 25,000 people and would exclude military and prison populations from the count. The Agriculture Secretary would also review these limits annually instead of keeping them fixed.
HR 7609 · 119th Congress · February 20, 2026 · AI Summary by claude-sonnet-4-20250514 · 10/10
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