110 STAT. 1126 PUBLIC LAW 104-127—APR. 4, 1996 undergoing adjustment from terminated Federal agricultural price and income support programs or increased competition from foreign trade."; (4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following: " (e) RURAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— "(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: "(A) NONPROFIT INSTITUTION. — The term 'nonprofit institution' means any organization or institution, including an accredited institution of higher education, no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. "(B) UNITED STATES.— The term United States' means the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the other territories and possessions of the United States. "(2) GRANTS.— The Secretary shall make grants under this subsection to nonprofit institutions for the purpose of enabling the institutions to establish and operate centers for rural cooperative development. "(3) GOALS.— The goals of a center funded under this subsection shall be to facilitate the creation of jobs in rural areas through the development of new rural cooperatives, value added processing, and rural businesses. "(4) APPLICATION. — Any nonprofit institution seeking a grant under paragraph (2) shall submit to the Secretary an application containing a plan for the establishment and operation by the institution of a center or centers for cooperative development. The Secretary may approve the application if the plan contains the following: "(A) A provision that substantiates that the center will effectively serve rural areas in the United States. "(B) A provision that the primary objective of the center will be to improve the economic condition of rural areas through cooperative development. "(C) A description of the activities that the center will carry out to accomplish the objective. The activities may include the following: "(i) Programs for applied research and feasibility studies that may be useful to individuals, cooperatives, small businesses, and other similar entities in rural areas served by the center. "(ii) Programs for the collection, interpretation, and dissemination of information that may be useful to individuals, cooperatives, small businesses, and other similar entities in rural areas served by the center, "(iii) Programs providing training and instruction for individuals, cooperatives, small businesses, and other similar entities in rural areas served by the center. "(iv) Programs providing loans and grants to individuals, cooperatives, small businesses, and other similar entities in rural areas served by the center. "(v) Programs providing technical assistance, research services, and advisory services to individuals, cooperatives, small businesses, and other similar entities in rural areas served by the center.
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