,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cbjf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #b1  
#bjbc,mr4 ,bennet 7for himself and ,ms4 
,lummis7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 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 ranchers1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,agricultural ,access to ,substance ,use
 ,disorder ,treatment and ,mental       
,health ,care ,act of #bjbc4  #b4 ,study
 on accessibility of substance use      
disorder treatment and mental health    
care providers and services for farmers 
and ranchers  7a7 ,in general ,not later
 than #b years after the date of        
enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller
 ,general of the ,united ,states shall--
 7#a7 conduct a study on the            

accessibility of substance use disorder 
treatment and mental health care        
providers and services for farmers and  
ranchers2 and  7#b7 submit a report     
containing the results of the study     
conducted under paragraph 7#a7 to-- 7,a7
 the ,secretary of ,agriculture2  7,b7  
the ,secretary of ,health and ,human    
,services2  7,c7 the ,committee on      
,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry 
of the ,senate2  7,d7 the ,committee on 
,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and        
,pensions of the ,senate2  7,e7 the     
,committee on ,finance of the ,senate2  
7,f7 the ,committee on ,agriculture of  
the ,house of ,representatives2  7,g7   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce 
of the ,house of ,representatives2 and  
7,h7 the ,committee on ,ways and ,means 
of the ,house of ,representatives4  7b7 
,topics addressed ,the study conducted  
under subsection 7a7 shall include an   
examination of the following topics3    
7#a7 ,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 farmers1 ranchers1 agricultural     
workers1 and their family members4  7#b7
 ,barriers and challenges faced by      
farmers and ranchers in accessing       
substance use disorder treatment and    
mental health care and health and       
wellness resources1 including financial1
 geographic1 and cultural barriers4     
7#c7 ,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
 communities1 including the following3  
7,a7 ,hiring and training of substance  
use disorder treatment and mental health
 care professionals with expertise in   
working with agricultural communities4  
7,b7 ,accessing cultural competency     
training for substance use disorder     
treatment and mental health care        

professionals that lack expertise in    
working with agricultural communities4  
7,c7 ,developing certificate programs   
for paraprofessionals and coaches to    
offer peer-to-peer support programming4 
7,d7 ,researching effective curricula   
for youth and young adults to be offered
 in rural schools4  7,e7 ,expanding     
telehealth and telemedicine services to 
improve access to care in rural areas4  
7,f7 ,developing outreach and           
educational programs to reduce stigma   
and increase awareness of mental health 
issues among farmers and ranchers4  7,g7
 ,enhancing coordination and            
collaboration between existing mental   
health providers and agricultural       
organizations4  7,h7 ,conducting        
research and evaluation to measure the  
effectiveness of substance use disorder 
treatment and mental health care        
services provided to farmers and        
ranchers4  7#d7 ,utilization of1 and    
best practices among grantees through1  
the ,farm and ,ranch ,stress ,assistance

 ,network under section #gebb of the    
,food1 ,conservation1 and ,energy ,act  
of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #eicf74  7#e7    
,recommendations for improving the      
accessibility and utilization of        
substance use disorder treatment and    
mental health care for farmers and      
ranchers4