[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1867 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1867

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out an initiative to 
 develop, expand, and improve rural childcare, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2023

  Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Marshall, Ms. Smith, Mr. Braun, and Ms. 
Ernst) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
        to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out an initiative to 
 develop, expand, and improve rural childcare, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Childcare in Rural America 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. 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 young children who--
                                    (I) are in kindergarten; or
                                    (II) have not yet entered 
                                kindergarten; 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, or 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 facility used for a program 
                        described in subparagraph (A); and
                            (iii) 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) 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 2024 
through 2028, priority in accordance with subsection (c) to address the 
availability, quality, and cost of childcare in agricultural and rural 
communities.
    (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 an agricultural or rural community.
            (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 technical assistance and training grant 
                program authorized under section 306(a) of that Act (7 
                U.S.C. 1926(a)).
                    (C) The rural business development grant program 
                authorized under section 310B(c) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 
                1932(c)).
                    (D) The business and industry direct and guaranteed 
                loan program authorized under section 310B(g) of that 
                Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)).
                    (E) The rural microentrepreneur assistance program 
                authorized under section 379E of that Act (7 U.S.C. 
                2008s).
                    (F) The rural innovation stronger economy (RISE) 
                grant program authorized under section 379I of that Act 
                (7 U.S.C. 2008w).
    (d) Requirements.--In providing funding in accordance with the 
Initiative, the Secretary shall--
            (1) give priority to communities in farming-dependent 
        counties, as described in the 2015 county typology codes 
        published by the Economic Research Service (as revised); and
            (2) ensure a balanced geographical distribution of the 
        benefits under the Initiative.
    (e) Use of Intermediaries.--In providing funding in accordance with 
the Initiative, the Secretary may make awards through a childcare 
resource and referral organization, a staffed family child care 
network, a community development financial institution, a nonprofit 
organization, or a network of nonprofit organizations, with 
demonstrated expertise in--
            (1) providing technical or financial assistance for the 
        acquisition, construction, renovation, or improvement of 
        childcare facilities;
            (2) providing technical, financial, or managerial 
        assistance to childcare providers; or
            (3) securing private sources of capital financing for 
        childcare or other low-income community development.
    (f) Evaluation; Report.--
            (1) Evaluation.--Not later than 2 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 3 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 Representatives a 
        report describing the evaluation conducted under paragraph (1), 
        including a thorough analysis of the outcomes of the 
        evaluation.
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