# 119-hr-4272: Prioritizing Rural Hospitals Act

119-hr-4272, Prioritizing Rural Hospitals Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4272
- As of: 2026-09-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4272
- Congress: 119
- Title: Prioritizing Rural Hospitals Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-30

## Summary

**Prioritizes funding for rural health and behavioral health facilities** by directing USDA Community Facilities direct loans and grants toward those projects for fiscal years 2026–2031. It would also limit how award money can be spent and prevent national reprioritizations so resources stay focused on local health infrastructure. - Rural families and patients could see improved access through renovated hospitals and expanded telehealth capacity in areas with few providers. - Eligible rural hospitals and clinics, including certified community behavioral health clinics, would get selection priority for direct loans and grants to support medical supplies, telehealth systems, or reopening closed facilities. - Recipients may use funds for staffing but no more than 25 percent of a loan or grant may go to staffing, and USDA would be barred from making national-level reprioritizations in the Community Facilities program during 2026–2031.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1] (R-KS), 2025-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bishop, Sanford D. [D-GA-2] (D-GA), 2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Rural health projects get priority and stability: benefit, medium. For fiscal years 2026 through 2031, USDA would have to prioritize Community Facilities applications that build or expand health care or mental and behavioral health facilities, including certified community behavioral health clinics. In those years, USDA would also be barred from making national re…
- Rural clinic funding with staffing cap: mixed, medium. If enacted, from fiscal years 2026 through 2031, eligible rural health and behavioral health projects that get USDA Community Facilities loans or grants could use funds for medical supplies, telehealth systems, staffing, and renovating closed facilities. They could use no more than 25% of any award…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-2036: Credit for Caring Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-hr-4272 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4272)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-2036: Credit for Caring Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2036)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4272 (as of 2026-09-30).