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This bill would give extra priority to rural projects that help people get behavioral and mental health care. It would also extend existing support for projects that address substance use disorder through 2029. In plain terms, the bill aims to steer more rural development funding toward clinics, facilities, and education programs that can better prevent, treat, and support recovery from mental health and substance use problems in rural communities.
- It extends the current substance use disorder set-aside and priority in these rural programs from 2025 to 2029.
- When the government chooses recipients for loans or grants for essential community facilities, it would give preference to projects that build or improve places offering behavioral and mental health services.
- Those services can include prevention, treatment, recovery support, or a mix of all three.
- Priority would go to applicants that have staff with the right training and experience to identify and treat people with behavioral and mental health needs, and to education grants used for behavioral and mental health education and treatment.
Official Summaries
Rural Wellness Act
This bill prioritizes behavioral and mental health treatment services under certain rural development grant and loan programs. The bill also reauthorizes through FY2029 the set-asides and prioritizations for substance use disorder treatment services under the Department of Agriculture's (1) Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program, (2) Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program, and (3) Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program.
Under the community facilities program, the bill prioritizes direct loans and grants for the development of behavioral and mental health services facilities, including facilities that provide treatment services. Further, loans and grants provided under the program may be used to develop facilities and systems to provide telehealth services for behavioral and mental health treatment.
Under the Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program, the bill prioritizes grants for behavioral and mental health education and treatment.
Under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants Program, the bill includes a 17% set-aside for telemedicine projects that provide substance use disorder treatment services (currently a 20% set-aside).
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1906 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1906
To provide for the prioritization of projects that provide behavioral
and mental health treatment services in selecting grantees under
certain rural development programs, and extend the substance abuse
disorder set-aside and priority under the programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 6, 2025
Ms. Budzinski (for herself, Mr. Finstad, Mr. Davis of North Carolina,
and Mr. Taylor) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the prioritization of projects that provide behavioral
and mental health treatment services in selecting grantees under
certain rural development programs, and extend the substance abuse
disorder set-aside and priority under the programs.
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 ``Rural Wellness Act''.
SEC. 2. PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS THAT PROVIDE BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL
HEALTH TREATMENT SERVICES IN SELECTING GRANTEES UNDER
CERTAIN RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS; EXTENSION OF
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER SET-ASIDE AND PRIORITY UNDER THE
PROGRAMS.
Section 6101(a)(1) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (132
Stat. 4726) is amended--
(1) by striking ``2025'' and inserting ``2029'';
(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``20'' each place it
appears and inserting ``17'';
(3) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) in clause (ii)--
(i) by inserting ``or (ii)'' before ``that
receives''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or for behavioral and
mental health treatment, respectively'' before
the period; and
(B) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii)
and inserting after clause (i) the following:
``(ii) Behavioral and mental health
treatment selection priority.--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--
``(I) to develop facilities to
provide behavioral and mental health
services such as--
``(aa) prevention services;
``(bb) treatment services;
``(cc) recovery services;
or
``(dd) any combination of
those services; and
``(II) that employ staff that have
appropriate expertise and training in
how to identify and treat individuals
with behavioral and mental health
concerns.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) Rural health and safety education programs;
behavioral and mental health selection priority.--In
making grants under section 502(i) of the Rural
Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2662(i)), the
Secretary shall give priority to an applicant that will
use the grant for behavioral and mental health
education and treatment.''.
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