Rural Wellness Act

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). 

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1906 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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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