[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5363 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5363
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out an initiative to
develop, expand, and improve rural childcare, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 15, 2025
Ms. Perez (for herself, Mr. Mann, Ms. Underwood, and Mr. Baird)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out an initiative to
develop, expand, and improve rural childcare, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Childcare in Rural America
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDING CHILDCARE IN RURAL AMERICA INITIATIVE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Childcare.--
(A) In general.--The term ``childcare'' means any
program that--
(i) provides quality care and early
education for young children who--
(I) are in kindergarten; or
(II) have not yet entered
kindergarten; and
(ii) is operated by--
(I) 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
(II) 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.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``childcare'' includes--
(i) a school-based program described in
subparagraph (A);
(ii) a facility used for a program
described in subparagraph (A); and
(iii) a service provided under a program
described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Initiative.--The term ``Initiative'' means the
Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative established
under subsection (b).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an initiative, to
be known as the ``Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative'',
under which the Secretary shall provide, for each of fiscal years 2026
through 2030, priority in accordance with subsection (c) to address the
availability, quality, and cost of childcare in agricultural and rural
communities.
(c) Childcare Priorities.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, in selecting recipients of loans and grants under a
program described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall give
priority to any qualified applicant that proposes to use the
loan or grant to address the availability, quality, or cost of
childcare in an agricultural or rural community.
(2) Description of programs.--The programs referred to in
paragraph (1) are the following:
(A) The essential community facilities loan and
grant programs authorized under section 306(a) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1926(a)).
(B) The technical assistance and training grant
program authorized under section 306(a) of that Act (7
U.S.C. 1926(a)).
(C) The rural business development grant program
authorized under section 310B(c) of that Act (7 U.S.C.
1932(c)).
(D) The business and industry direct and guaranteed
loan program authorized under section 310B(g) of that
Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)).
(E) The rural microentrepreneur assistance program
authorized under section 379E of that Act (7 U.S.C.
2008s).
(F) The rural innovation stronger economy (RISE)
grant program authorized under section 379I of that Act
(7 U.S.C. 2008w).
(d) Requirements.--In providing funding in accordance with the
Initiative, the Secretary shall--
(1) give priority to communities in farming-dependent
counties, as described in the 2015 county typology codes
published by the Economic Research Service (as revised); and
(2) ensure a balanced geographical distribution of the
benefits under the Initiative.
(e) Use of Intermediaries.--In providing funding in accordance with
the Initiative, the Secretary may make awards through a childcare
resource and referral organization, a staffed family child care
network, a community development financial institution, a nonprofit
organization, or a network of nonprofit organizations, with
demonstrated expertise in--
(1) providing technical or financial assistance for the
acquisition, construction, renovation, or improvement of
childcare facilities;
(2) providing technical, financial, or managerial
assistance to childcare providers; or
(3) securing private sources of capital financing for
childcare or other low-income community development.
(f) Evaluation; Report.--
(1) 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 using assistance provided under the
Initiative, including--
(A) a description of--
(i) the types of projects carried out;
(ii) the communities in which the projects
are carried out;
(iii) the organizations and entities
participating in the projects; and
(iv) the types of partnerships developed to
carry out the projects; and
(B) the economic and social impacts of the
investments in the projects.
(2) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate
and the Committee on Agriculture of the House Representatives a
report describing the evaluation conducted under paragraph (1),
including a thorough analysis of the outcomes of the
evaluation.
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