1. THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
Congress faces a September 30 deadline most rural readers haven’t heard about: the authorization for several USDA rural broadband programs, including ReConnect and the Rural Broadband Program, expires at the end of the fiscal year. The House passed its farm bill reauthorizing these programs back in April, but the Senate’s companion legislation hit a wall in committee on August 6 and hasn’t moved since. Separately, the EPA’s rural policy advisory committee holds a public meeting next Friday, open for registration now.
2. Bill Status: Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567)
What it does: A roughly 800-page reauthorization of USDA farm, conservation, trade, rural development, and broadband programs through fiscal year 2031, including the ReConnect and Rural Broadband programs that fund internet buildout in underserved areas.
Where it stands:
∙ Passed House Agriculture Committee 34–17 (March 5, 2026)
∙ Passed full House 224–200 (April 30, 2026)
∙ Senate companion, the Agricultural Act of 2026, went to markup in the Senate Agriculture Committee on August 6 — the committee split 10–11 and the bill did not advance
∙ No further Senate committee action reported since
Why it matters locally: Authorizations for the USDA broadband programs that fund fiber buildout, loans, and grants in underserved rural areas are set to expire September 30, 2026. If neither chamber acts — or if Congress doesn’t pass a short-term extension, as it has in three of the last four years — these programs lose their statutory authorization. That doesn’t necessarily zero out existing awarded grants, but it puts new funding rounds in limbo until Congress acts.
What to watch: Whether the Senate Agriculture Committee brings the bill back for another markup vote, or whether leadership moves toward a stopgap extension like the one-year patches used in 2023 and 2024.
3. Federal Register: Upcoming Public Meeting
Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee (FRRCC) — EPA
∙ When: Friday, September 11, 2026, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern
∙ Where: Virtual, via Zoom — registration required
∙ What it is: A Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) panel that advises the EPA Administrator on environmental policy issues affecting agriculture and rural communities
∙ How to participate: Registration and agenda details at epa.gov/faca/frrcc
∙ Contact: Jeffrey Herrick, Designated Federal Officer — [email protected] / 919-541-7745
This is a public-comment-adjacent forum, not a rulemaking with a formal comment docket — but it’s a direct line for rural stakeholders to raise issues with EPA’s rural-facing agenculture policy.
4. SOURCES
H.R. 7567 status — Congress.gov, GovTrack.us
∙ Farm bill/broadband authorization analysis — Congressional Research Service (IF13248)
∙ Senate Agriculture Committee markup outcome — National Association of Counties
∙ FRRCC meeting notice — Federal Register (91 FR 56653, Doc. 2026-18069)
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