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USDA/RUS RIN: 0572-AC69 Publication ID: Fall 2024 
Title: ●Updates to 7 CFR 1740, Rural eConnectivity Program 
Abstract:

The ReConnect program provides funding in the form of loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. The expansion of broadband services and infrastructure helps fuel long-term rural economic development and opportunities in rural America.

The final rule that established and codified the requirements for the ReConnect program was published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2021 (86 FR 11603). Since its establishment in 2018 as a pilot program, RUS has successfully opened five funding windows, made awards under four, and is currently reviewing the fifth round of applications. The program has continued to mature, and the agency and its stakeholders have learned valuable lessons over that time.

The Agency proposes to issue a final rule that will improve customer experience and service delivery by adding and updating definitions for clarity, revising reporting requirements to provide flexibility for awardees, reducing burden by removing requirements that are no longer needed, and making other minor revisions as needed to align requirements with more current agency guidance. Although this rulemaking is administrative, there will be an opportunity for public input.

 
Agency: Department of Agriculture(USDA)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: First time published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 7 CFR 1740   
Legal Authority: Pub. L. 115–141    7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
Final Rule with comment  11/00/2025 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: None 
Small Entities Affected: No  Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
La’Kenya Walter
Deputy Assistant Administrator
Department of Agriculture
Rural Utilities Service
14th and Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20250
Phone:202 720-0733
Email: lakenya.walter@usda.gov