Excluding institutionalized residents from poverty counts could shift which rural areas meet the eligibility threshold for the tax credit. Lowering the poverty threshold for federally land-heavy counties could expand the number of census tracts that qualify under the program.

Senate bill rewrites rural poverty rules for federal tax credit

Q: What does this do?

S 4584 modifies the New Markets Tax Credit, a federal program that gives investors tax credits for funding businesses in low-income communities. The bill excludes institutionalized residents such as prisoners and nursing home occupants from poverty rate calculations in qualifying rural counties. It also lowers the poverty rate threshold from 20 percent to 15 percent for communities in counties where the federal government owns at least 30 percent of the land.

In committeeS. 4584Latest action May 20, 2026

Sponsor: Bill Cassidy · Senator · LA

AIDecoded by AI · checked against the record

Read the official text

Official title: Norma Ruth Criswell Carpenter & Clovis C. Criswell Grant Parish Restoration Act of 2026

119th Congress

Topics: Jobs & the economy

Introduced: May 20, 2026

Read the official bill on Congress.gov

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S 4584 changes who qualifies for the New Markets in rural and federally land-heavy counties.

50-second read · 4 questions answered below

What does this do?

S 4584 modifies the New Markets , a federal program that gives investors tax credits for funding businesses in low-income communities. The bill excludes institutionalized residents such as prisoners and nursing home occupants from poverty rate calculations in qualifying rural counties. It also lowers the poverty rate threshold from 20 percent to 15 percent for communities in counties where the federal government owns at least 30 percent of the land.

Who does it affect?

The changes directly affect investors, businesses, and residents in rural counties with population loss and in counties with heavy federal land ownership. Land held for military bases or in trust for Native American tribes does not count toward the 30 percent federal ownership threshold.

Why does it matter?

Excluding institutionalized residents from poverty counts could shift which rural areas meet the eligibility threshold for the . Lowering the poverty threshold for federally land-heavy counties could expand the number of census tracts that qualify under the program.

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Read the official bill on Congress.gov

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IntroducedMay 20, 2026
Senate committeeYou are here · May 20, 2026
Senate vote
House
The president's desk

Right now: a Senate committee is reviewing it. If the House changes it, it goes back to the Senate before reaching the president.

Latest action: May 20, 2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

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