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

H.R. 5363 sets up the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative inside the USDA. For each year from 2026 through 2030, the Secretary of Agriculture would have to give priority to applicants who want to use a USDA loan or grant to improve the availability, quality, or cost of childcare in rural and farming communities.

There's no new grant fund and no dollar figure in the bill. Instead, childcare becomes a preferred use inside money USDA already hands out. That's the whole design — steer existing programs toward childcare rather than build a new one.

The priority runs through six existing USDA programs, including community facilities loans and grants, rural business development grants, business and industry loans, the rural microentrepreneur program, and the RISE grant program. A childcare project competing for any of those would get bumped up the list.

The bill points USDA toward farm country specifically. It tells the Secretary to give priority to communities in "farming-dependent counties," using the Economic Research Service's county typology codes, while still spreading the benefits across different regions so awards don't pile up in one place.

To qualify, a childcare provider has to be licensed, regulated, or registered where it operates and meet health and safety rules. USDA can also route money through intermediaries like community development financial institutions and nonprofit childcare networks, as long as they've proven they can build facilities, support providers, or raise private capital. And there's a clock: USDA has to evaluate the results within two years and report to the House and Senate Agriculture committees within three.