SenateS. 4628119th Congress
A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an initiative to address the availability, quality, and cost of childcare in rural areas, and for other purposes.
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4628 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4628
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an initiative to
address the availability, quality, and cost of childcare in rural
areas, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 21, 2026
Mr. Marshall (for himself, Ms. Smith, Ms. Hassan, and Ms. Ernst)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an initiative to
address the availability, quality, and cost of childcare in rural
areas, 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. 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 children who have not yet entered
first grade; 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 of the United
States, or territory of the
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 program described in subparagraph
(A) that is a Head Start program, including a
migrant and seasonal Head Start program, or an
American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start
program carried out under the Head Start Act
(42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);
(iii) a facility used for a program
described in subparagraph (A); and
(iv) 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) Rural area.--The term ``rural area'' has the meaning
given the term in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated
Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)).
(4) 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 2027
through 2029, priority in accordance with subsection (c) to address the
availability, quality, and cost of childcare in rural areas.
(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 a rural area.
(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 business and industry direct and guaranteed
loan program authorized under section 310B(g) of that
Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)).
(C) The rural microentrepreneur assistance program
authorized under section 379E of that Act (7 U.S.C.
2008s).
(D) The intermediary relending program authorized
under section 310H of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1936b).
(d) Requirement.--In providing funding in accordance with the
Initiative, the Secretary shall ensure a balanced geographical
distribution of the benefits under the Initiative.
(e) Evaluation; Report.--
(1) Evaluation.--Not later than 3 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 4 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 of
Representatives a report describing the evaluation conducted
under paragraph (1), including a thorough analysis of the
outcomes of the evaluation.
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