Rural Wellness Act
Sponsored By: Representative Budzinski
In Committee
Summary
Rural behavioral and mental health. This bill would prioritize behavioral and mental health treatment in USDA rural development loans and grants and extend substance use disorder set-aside and priority rules to FY2029.
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- Families in rural areas would get more local access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services delivered at funded facilities or via telehealth.
- Rural hospitals, clinics, and nonprofit providers applying for Community Facilities direct loans or grants would receive selection priority if they develop behavioral and mental health services and hire staff with appropriate training.
- Distance Learning and Telemedicine grants would retain a dedicated set-aside for substance use disorder treatment but lower it from 20% to 17%.
- The Rural Health and Safety Education competitive grants would be prioritized for behavioral and mental health education and treatment projects.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
More priority for rural mental health
If enacted, rural projects that build or improve behavioral and mental health facilities would get selection priority for USDA loans and grants. To get this priority, projects would need trained staff for behavioral health care. Rural health education grants used for behavioral and mental health would also get priority. The bill would extend the current substance use disorder set-aside and priority through 2029, instead of ending in 2025.
Rural grant eligibility number changes to 17
If enacted, the bill would change a key number in one eligibility or priority rule from 20 to 17. This could change who qualifies or how projects rank under that rule. It would only affect applicants covered by that specific rule.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Budzinski
IL • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1]
MN • R
Sponsored 3/6/2025
Davis (NC)
NC • D
Sponsored 3/6/2025
Rep. Taylor, David J. [R-OH-2]
OH • R
Sponsored 3/6/2025
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Stansbury
NM • D
Sponsored 5/8/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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