S 1074 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Agricultural Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Mental Health Care Act of 2025
To provide for a study on the accessibility of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care providers and services for farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the accessibility of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care services for farmers and ranchers within two years. The study must examine the availability of rural treatment providers trained to serve agricultural communities, identify barriers farmers and ranchers face in accessing care, and identify best practices and successful programs at state and local levels that could be expanded federally. Topics to be examined include training providers with agricultural expertise, cultural competency training, telehealth expansion, peer-support programs, and strategies to reduce stigma around mental health in agricultural communities. The GAO must submit its findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and relevant congressional committees.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
Actions (2)
- Mar 14, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. · senate
- Mar 14, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 14, 2025
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To provide for a study on the accessibility of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care providers and services for farmers and ranchers, 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 “Agricultural Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Mental Health Care Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. STUDY ON ACCESSIBILITY OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND SERVICES FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS.
(a) In General.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—
(1) conduct a study on the accessibility of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care providers and services for farmers and ranchers; and
(2) submit a report containing the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1) to—
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives;
(G) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
(H) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
(b) Topics Addressed.—The study conducted under subsection (a) shall include an examination of the following topics:
(1) The availability and accessibility in rural areas of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care providers and services that are trained and dedicated to serve the needs of farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their family members.
(2) Barriers and challenges faced by farmers and ranchers in accessing substance use disorder treatment and mental health care and health and wellness resources, including financial, geographic, and cultural barriers.
(3) Identification of best practices and successful programs at the State and local levels that can be replicated at the Federal level to address substance use disorder treatment and mental health care needs in agricultural communities, including the following:
(A) Hiring and training of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care professionals with expertise in working with agricultural communities.
(B) Accessing cultural competency training for substance use disorder treatment and mental health care professionals that lack expertise in working with agricultural communities.
(C) Developing certificate programs for paraprofessionals and coaches to offer peer-to-peer support programming.
(D) Researching effective curricula for youth and young adults to be offered in rural schools.
(E) Expanding telehealth and telemedicine services to improve access to care in rural areas.
(F) Developing outreach and educational programs to reduce stigma and increase awareness of mental health issues among farmers and ranchers.
(G) Enhancing coordination and collaboration between existing mental health providers and agricultural organizations.
(H) Conducting research and evaluation to measure the effectiveness of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care services provided to farmers and ranchers.
(4) Utilization of, and best practices among grantees through, the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network under section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5936).
(5) Recommendations for improving the accessibility and utilization of substance use disorder treatment and mental health care for farmers and ranchers. <all>
Comments