Farmers First Act of 2025

Farmers First Act of 2025

This bill extends through FY2030 and revises the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN). This Department of Agriculture program provides competitive grants to states, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations to provide stress assistance programs (i.e., professional agricultural behavioral health counseling, helplines, and resources) to individuals engaged in farming, ranching, and agriculture-related occupations.

The bill specifies that the grant funding for farm telephone helplines and websites may also be used for crisis lines.

Further, FRSAN grant recipients may establish referral relationships with providers, including Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, health centers, rural health clinics, and critical access hospitals.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4400 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4400

To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to reauthorize 
 the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 15, 2025

Mr. Feenstra (for himself, Ms. Craig, Mr. Bost, Mr. Costa, and Mr. Nunn 
   of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to reauthorize 
 the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, 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 ``Farmers First Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NETWORK.

    Section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 
U.S.C. 5936) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ``, including 
        crisis lines'' before the semicolon at the end;
            (2) in subsection (d), by striking ``$10,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2019 through 2023'' and inserting ``$15,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Referrals to Providers.--As part of the efforts of the 
recipient of a grant under subsection (a) to connect individuals to 
behavioral health counseling and wellness support and to ensure 
individuals have access to a comprehensive scope of mental health and 
substance use treatments and supports, when applicable, the grant 
recipient may establish referral relationships with--
            ``(1) certified community behavioral health clinics 
        described in section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare 
        Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 1396a note; Public Law 113-93);
            ``(2) health centers (as defined in section 330(a) of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(a)));
            ``(3) rural health clinics (as defined in section 1861(aa) 
        of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)));
            ``(4) Federally qualified health centers (as defined in 
        that section); and
            ``(5) critical access hospitals (as defined in section 
        1861(mm) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm))).''.
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