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

This section establishes the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative, under which the Secretary of Agriculture must provide priority—for FY2026 through 2030—to qualified applicants using loans or grants from specified USDA rural development programs to address the availability, quality, or cost of childcare (i.e., quality care and early education for children in kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, provided by licensed or regulated providers meeting health and safety requirements) in agricultural and rural communities. The specified programs are (1) essential community facilities loans and grants, (2) technical assistance and training grants, (3) rural business development grants, (4) business and industry direct and guaranteed loans, (5) rural microentrepreneur assistance, and (6) rural innovation stronger economy (RISE) grants—all under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. In implementing the initiative, the Secretary must prioritize farming-dependent counties (per Economic Research Service 2015 county typology codes, as revised), ensure balanced geographical distribution of benefits, and may award funds through intermediaries (e.g., childcare resource and referral organizations or community development financial institutions) with expertise in childcare facility development or provider assistance. This section further requires the Secretary to evaluate initiative projects within two years of enactment—including project types, locations, participants, partnerships, and economic/social impacts—and submit a report on the evaluation to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture within three years of enactment.