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.

In this section:

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.

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).

The term Initiative means the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative established under subsection (b).

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)).

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

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.

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.

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).

In providing funding in accordance with the Initiative, the Secretary shall ensure a balanced geographical distribution of the benefits under the Initiative.

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.

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.