Congress·In Committee·H.R. 6462

Congress directs USDA to help rural towns apply for disaster recovery funds, authorizing $50M a year

Rural Recovery Act of 2025

4 months ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

Creates a USDA program to help rural places recover after a major disaster the President declares.
Targets small communities (generally under 20,000 people), but USDA can adjust or waive that limit for specific areas.
Provides hands-on help with recovery planning, finding funding, filling out applications, appealing denials, and using awarded funds.
Help can cover projects like water systems, housing, energy, internet/telecom, community buildings, business sites, and local government needs.
Allows support for 3 years after a disaster, with a possible case-by-case extension for up to 3 more years; authorizes $50 million per year.

AgricultureInfrastructureHousingTelecommunicationsSmall Business

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(7)

Small Business Owner

Neutral

Gig Worker

Neutral

Farmer Rancher

Neutral

Housing Assistance

Neutral

Homeowner

Neutral

Renter

Neutral

Federal Employee

Neutral

Milestones

2 milestones3 actions

Dec 4, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

Dec 4, 2025

Introduced in House

Dec 4, 2025

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H5040)

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

After the bill becomes law

USDA sets up the Rural Development Disaster Recovery Technical Assistance Program

After the law takes effect, USDA Rural Development would organize who provides the help (state offices and/or contracted nonprofits/public bodies) so communities can get support after disasters.

Before the first allocations are made for a fiscal year with funding

USDA creates a yearly allocation formula based on affected population using the most recent decennial census

How much technical-assistance support a disaster area gets would depend on the size of the affected population, which can shape how much help smaller vs. larger rural places receive.