H.R. 5363: Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act of 2025

HR5363 would create the “Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative” inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture would have to give priority, for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to applicants using USDA loans or grants to improve the availability, quality, or cost of childcare in agricultural and rural communities. That means childcare would become a preferred use inside existing USDA programs rather than a stand-alone grant pot with a new dollar amount written into the bill.

The bill uses a specific definition of childcare. It covers programs that provide quality care and early education for young children who are in kindergarten or have not yet entered kindergarten. It also covers school-based programs, the facilities used for those programs, and services provided under them. Providers must either fit the federal standard in section 658P(6)(A) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 or, on the date of enactment, be licensed, regulated, or registered by the State, territory, or Indian Tribe where they operate and meet health and safety rules.

The practical effect is broad because the priority applies across six USDA programs: essential community facilities loans and grants, technical assistance and training grants, the rural business development grant program, the business and industry direct and guaranteed loan program, the rural microentrepreneur assistance program, and the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy grant program. The Secretary also must prioritize communities in “farming-dependent counties” using the 2015 county typology codes published by the Economic Research Service, as revised, while still ensuring a balanced geographical distribution of benefits. So the bill is not just about any rural place; it explicitly steers attention to farm-heavy counties.

The bill also tries to improve execution and oversight. USDA may make awards through intermediaries such as childcare resource and referral organizations, staffed family child care networks, community development financial institutions, and nonprofit organizations or nonprofit networks, but only if they have demonstrated expertise in facility acquisition, construction, renovation, or improvement, provider assistance, or securing private capital financing for childcare or low-income community development. Then USDA must evaluate the initiative not later than 2 years after enactment and send a report not later than 3 years after enactment to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture. That creates a short accountability clock and could shape whether Congress expands or changes the effort later.