S. 3965 – EDA Short Form Application Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated March 19, 2026 at 3:22 AM UTC

The EDA Short Form Application Act directs the Economic Development Administration to develop a simplified, short‑form grant application specifically for rural communities, tribal areas, and territories. By defining what qualifies as a rural community and requiring stakeholder input, the bill aims to make it easier and faster for these areas to apply for federal economic‑development funding. It also increases transparency by making successful examples and review criteria publicly available.

Key Provisions

Defines “rural community” as an incorporated municipality, tribal area, or territory with 10,000 or fewer people, or not located in a metropolitan statistical area.
Requires the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development to create a short‑form application that can be used for any Economic Development Administration grant program.
Mandates that the Assistant Secretary gather input from a representative group of rural stakeholders on how to make the application shorter, reduce required documentation, standardize templates, avoid duplicate information already in federal systems, and ensure relevance to rural needs.
Requires the Assistant Secretary to publicly post sample successful applications (with personal data removed), decision‑making guides, and standardized guidance to help rural communities complete the short‑form applications.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text: CR S764)

Environment and Public Works Committee

March 3, 2026

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

March 3, 2026

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text: CR S764)

Environment and Public Works Committee

March 3, 2026

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 3965 on the floor

1 Republican

Sen. John BarrassoR-WY · Mar 3, 2026

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. John BarrassoR-WY · Mar 3, 2026

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued March 3, 2026

II

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 3965

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 3, 2026

Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Daines, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Hawley, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Moran, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Schatz, and Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To require the establishment and use of short form applications for rural communities applying for economic development grant programs, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the EDA Short Form Application Act.

2.

Short form applications for rural communities in economic development programs

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Assistant Secretary

The term Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

(2)

Rural community

The term rural community means an incorporated municipality, Tribal area, or territory—

(A)

with a population of not more than 10,000 individuals, as determined by the Bureau of the Census in the most recent decennial census; or

(B)

that, as determined by the Assistant Secretary, is not located in a metropolitan statistical area, as designated by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(b)

Short form applications

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Assistant Secretary shall establish a short form application for rural communities that may be used by applicants in rural communities for any grant program administered by the Economic Development Administration.

(c)

Rural stakeholder input

In establishing a short form application under subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary shall solicit input from a representative group of stakeholders in rural communities on ways to improve the application process for grants from the Economic Development Administration, including—

(1)

the length of the applications;

(2)

the information and documentation required or requested to be submitted as part of the applications;

(3)

the possibility of standardizing base materials, such as budget templates, forms, and required attachments, across grant programs administered by the Economic Development Administration;

(4)

the possibility of reducing repetitive sections of the applications that ask for information already provided to the Federal Government, such as information provided through SAM.gov, the Bureau of the Census, or a comprehensive economic development strategy (as defined in section 3 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122));

(5)

the degree of applicability to rural communities of questions in the applications and information and documentation described in paragraph (2); and

(6)

any other considerations the Assistant Secretary determines to be necessary for the establishment of the short form application.

(d)

Transparency

In carrying out this section, the Assistant Secretary shall make publicly available—

(1)

sample successful applications, with personal and sensitive information redacted;

(2)

criteria decision guides that explain how applications are reviewed and rated; and

(3)

standardized guidance for rural communities to use in applying for grants from the Economic Development Administration.