Improving the rural care economy; prioritizations

(a) Investing in the rural care economy (1) Improving Rural Healthcare Access (A) Prioritizations The Secretary shall make the following prioritizations for fiscal years 2027 through 2031: (i) Distance learning and telemedicine In addition to the priorities under section 2333(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 950aaa–2(d)), in selecting recipients of financial assistance under chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XXIII of that Act (7 U.S.C. 950aaa et seq.), the Secretary shall give priority to telemedicine projects that— (I) provide substance use disorder prevention services, treatment services, recovery services, or any combination of those services; or (II) provide mental or behavioral health services. (ii) Community facilities direct loans and grants (I) In general In selecting recipients of direct loans or grants for the development of essential community facilities under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)), the Secretary shall give priority to entities eligible for those direct loans or grants to develop— (aa) healthcare facilities; or (bb) mental or behavioral health facilities, including certified community behavioral health clinics described in section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 1396a note; Public Law 113–93). (II) Use of funds In addition to the eligible uses of direct loans or grants for the development of essential community facilities under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)), an entity described in subclause (I) that receives a direct loan or grant for a purpose described in that subclause may use the direct loan or grant funds for— (aa) providing medical equipment to increase medical surge capacity; (bb) increasing telehealth capabilities, including underlying health care information systems; and (cc) engaging in any other efforts to support rural development determined to be critical to address the health care or mental or behavioral health needs of rural areas, as determined by the Secretary. (B) Limitation on other reprioritizations For fiscal years 2027 through 2031, the Secretary shall not make any reprioritizations within the Community Facilities direct loan and grant programs or the Distance Learning and Telemedicine programs under section 608 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2204b–2). (2) Improving Childcare in Rural America (A) Definition of childcare program (i) In general In this paragraph, the term childcare program means a program that— (I) provides quality care and early education for young children who— (aa) are in kindergarten; or (bb) have not yet entered kindergarten; and (II) is operated by— (aa) an eligible childcare provider described in section 658P(6)(A) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n(6)(A)); or (bb) a childcare provider that, on the date of enactment of this Act— (AA) is licensed, regulated, or registered in the State, territory, or Indian Tribe in which the provider is located; and (BB) meets applicable State, Tribal, territorial, and local health and safety requirements. (ii) Inclusions In this paragraph, the term childcare program includes— (I) a school-based program described in clause (i); (II) a program described in clause (i) that accommodates nontraditional working hours; (III) a facility used for a program described in clause (i); and (IV) a service provided under a program described in clause (i). (B) Prioritizations The Secretary shall make the following prioritizations for fiscal years 2027 through 2031: (i) Community facilities direct loans and grants (I) In general In addition the priorities described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), in selecting recipients of direct loans or grants for the development of essential community facilities under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)), the Secretary shall give priority to entities eligible for those direct loans or grants to develop facilities used for a childcare program, subject to the condition that the childcare program that uses those facilities shall employ staff that have appropriate expertise and training in childcare. (II) Use of funds In addition to the eligible uses of direct loans or grants for the development of essential community facilities under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)), an entity described in subclause (I) that receives a direct loan or grant for the purpose described in that subclause may use the direct loan or grant funds to support the staffing needs of the facility described in that subclause, subject to the condition that the eligible entity shall not use more than 25 percent of the direct loan or grant funds for staffing purposes. (ii) Rural business programs In selecting recipients of financial assistance under the rural business development grant program under section 310B(c) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(c)), the rural cooperative development grant program under section 310B(e) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)), and the rural microentrepreneur assistance program under section 379E of that Act (7 U.S.C. 2008s), the Secretary may give priority to entities eligible for financial assistance under those sections— (I) to provide technical or financial assistance for the acquisition, construction, renovation, or improvement of facilities used for a childcare program; (II) to provide technical, financial, or managerial assistance to childcare programs; (III) to assist in securing private sources of capital financing for childcare programs or other low-income community development; or (IV) to address the needs of licensed childcare programs located in the home of the childcare program provider. (C) Evaluation Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the projects carried out under this paragraph to improve access to childcare programs in rural areas, including a description of— (i) the types of projects carried out under this paragraph; (ii) the communities in which those projects are carried out; (iii) the organizations and entities participating in those projects; (iv) the types of partnerships developed to carry out those projects; and (v) the economic and social impacts of investments in rural childcare programs. (b) Access to credit for care industries Of the amount made available for business and industry guaranteed loans under section 310B(g) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)) for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031, the Secretary shall make available not less than 10 percent for supporting childcare programs (as defined in subsection (a)(2)(A)) and healthcare. (c) Sunset Effective beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6101(a) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4726) shall have no force or effect.