Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act

HR 6661 reauthorizes rural cooperative development grants under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. It clarifies that "cooperative development" includes outreach, education, training, and technical assistance for new and existing rural cooperatives. The bill requires grant applicants to commit to serving socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities and mandates annual reports from an interagency working group on program activities. This directly affects rural cooperatives (like farmer-owned businesses) and community organizations providing technical assistance, with changes focused on grant eligibility, community impact requirements, and reporting. The bill updates program funding periods to 2024-2028 and adds data analysis requirements for the annual reports.