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The Rural Energy for America Program primarily benefits Republican congressional districts [1]

['Anthony F. Pipa', 'Junjie Ren', 'Tom Wheeler', 'Nicol Turner Lee', 'Josie Stewart', 'Richard G. Frank', 'Sherry Glied']

Date: 2025-05

Following President Trump’s executive order on unleashing American energy signed on his first day in office, over $900 million of grants distributed through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and appropriated in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) were frozen, affecting a significant number of rural small businesses and farmers.

The program, established in the 2008 Farm Bill 1and administered by the Rural Development division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA-RD), provides financial assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to reduce energy costs and consumption.

REAP long predates the IRA, given its authorization in the 2008 Farm Bill, and has been a program well-used by farmers and businesses for years, with distributions in the millions of dollars for over a decade.

According to USDA-RD, the program has invested nearly $4.8 billion in projects across the country since the start of fiscal year 2012, making it the agency’s second-largest business program. Eligible applicants include agricultural producers, small businesses, and certain Tribal entities located in rural areas with populations of 50,000 or less. While other USDA energy programs primarily support local governments, utilities, cooperatives, and similar entities, REAP directly funds individual farmers and businesses, allowing them to tailor their energy projects based on their specific needs.

Through its guaranteed loan financing and grant funding, REAP helps reduce energy costs, enhance energy efficiency, and promote energy independence in rural communities. The program supports projects that range from upgrades such as HVAC systems, insulation, and energy-efficient equipment to the installation of renewable energy systems.

On March 25, recognizing the importance of these grants, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that current REAP recipients would be given the chance to voluntarily revise their project plans and resubmit within 30 days to ensure alignment with the president’s executive order. The announcement is ambiguous, and the extent to which USDA honors these contracts will be consequential for these farmers and businesses.

What are the size and scope of REAP’s funding?

Since the program began, REAP has obligated2 just over $2 billion in grants, as well as loans with a face value just under $3.3 billion. The following analysis tracks the distribution of the program’s grants.

Those grants have supported over 25,000 projects and reached every state in the U.S. Given REAP’s supplemental appropriations of over $2 billion in the IRA in 2022, the program was able to obligate just over $1.5 billion in grants between October 2022 and March 20253, a major increase in its annual distributions, and 68% of the program’s total grant value since its inception.

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[1] Url: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-rural-energy-for-america-program-primarily-benefits-republican-congressional-districts/

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