Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Shelley Capito (R-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Rural Jobs Act (HR 3538). The would authorize an additional $500 million in annual new markets tax credit (NMTC) allocation for 2019 and 2020 that would go to rural job zones. Those zones are defined as low-income communities with a population of 50,000 residents or less that are not adjacent to any urbanized area. At least 25 percent of the new NMTC allocation authority would be prioritized for counties with persistent poverty and high migration.