Helping Left-Behind Communities Make a Comeback
The order directs the Department of Commerce and twelve implementing agencies to coordinate federal investment programs targeting economically distressed, rural, and disaster-affected communities, creating a single-entry technical assistance network and giving those communities preferential treatment in future federal grant competitions.
Establishes a whole-of-government framework for place-based economic development, meaning the actual policy impact depends largely on future inter-agency coordination, memoranda of agreement, and funding decisions rather than any immediate operative change.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, to coordinate federal investments across twelve implementing agencies on behalf of defined "covered communities" — economically distressed regions, disaster-resilience zones, rural areas, and communities already served by specified federal programs. Within one year, Commerce must work with implementing agencies to improve engagement with state, Tribal, and local organizations; build an interagency technical assistance network with a single point of entry; and map overlapping federal place-based programs to reduce duplication. Implementing agencies must also assist grant applicants in distressed regions and consider preferencing covered communities in future funding opportunities.
The order does not itself create any new federal program, appropriate funds, or guarantee grant awards. All directives are conditioned on applicable law and the availability of appropriations, and the order explicitly states it creates no enforceable legal rights.
Who it affects
Economically distressed municipalities and rural communities, Tribal lands, Community Disaster Resilience Zones, and organizations serving those areas that seek federal grants or technical assistance. The twelve named implementing agencies must adjust outreach, technical assistance, and grant-preference practices.
Why it matters
Communities with limited grant-writing capacity may gain easier access to federal funding through a single technical assistance entry point and coordinated outreach. Agencies must actively consider favoring covered communities in future grant competitions, which could shift where federal economic development dollars flow.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The Secretary of Commerce anchors coordination, consulting with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Within one year, Commerce and the implementing agencies must jointly improve engagement practices, map overlapping programs, and build a unified technical assistance network. Separately, implementing agencies must consider a memorandum of agreement to share information across under-resourced programs. All steps are conditional — subject to applicable law and appropriations — and the order contains a standard non-enforceability clause, so no agency action can be compelled under this order alone.
Actions and deadlines
- Coordinate federal investments and develop policy recommendations on place-based economic development for covered communities
- Work with implementing agencies to improve community engagement, build a single-entry technical assistance network, and map overlapping federal programs
- Consider signing a memorandum of agreement to share information about programs for under-resourced applicants across agencies
- Include preferences or incentives for covered communities in forthcoming federal funding opportunities
- Seek community input, identify funding opportunities, and assist applicants in disaster-declared distressed regions