,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hadi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #bg1 #bjbf,mr4
 ,neguse 7for himself and ,mr4 ,van     
,orden7 introduced the following bill2  
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,agriculture  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the
 ,secretary of ,agriculture to conduct a
 study on the accessibility of addiction
 and mental health care providers and   
services for farmers and ranchers who   
have been impacted by severe and        
persistent drought1 extreme weather     
events1 instability in the commodities  
market1 misinformation targeting        
consumers1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,agricultural ,access to ,addiction 
and ,mental ,health ,care ,act4  #b4    
,finding ,congress finds that farmers   
and ranchers face numerous challenges1  
which can have a significant impact on  
the mental health and well being of such
 farmers and ranchers1 including--  7#a7
 severe and persistent drought2  7#b7   

extreme weather events2  7#c7           
instability in the commodities market2  
and  7#d7 misinformation targeting      
consumers4  #c4 ,study on accessibility 
of addiction and mental health care     
providers and services for farmers and  
ranchers  7a7 ,study required ,the      
,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting      
through the ,director of the ,national  
,institute of ,food and ,agriculture 7in
 this section referred to as the        
,secretary71 shall conduct a study on   
the accessibility of addiction and      
mental health care providers and        
services for farmers and ranchers who   
have been impacted by severe and        
persistent drought1 extreme weather     
events1 instability in the commodities  
market1 misinformation targeting        
consumers1 and related factors4  7b7    
,topics addressed ,the study conducted  
under subsection 7a7 shall include an   
examination of the following3  7#a7 ,the
 availability and accessibility in rural
 areas of addiction 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       
addiction 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 level that can be     
replicated at the ,federal level to     
addressed addiction and mental health   
care needs in agricultural communities  
including the following3 7,a7 ,hiring   
and training addiction and mental health
 care professionals with expertise in   
working with agricultural communities4  
7,b7 ,accessing cultural competency     
training for addiction 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 addiction and mental   
health care services provided to farmers
 and ranchers4  7#d7 ,recommendations   
for improving the accessibility of      
addiction and mental health care for    
farmers and ranchers4  7#e7 ,the        
feasibility of providing funding for #f 
reimbursable therapy sessions1 by       
providers that are trained and dedicated

 to serve the needs of farmers1 ranchers
 and their family members1 through 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  7c7     
,collaboration and ,consultation ,the   
,secretary shall collaborate and consult
 with relevant ,federal agencies1 ,state
 departments of agriculture1 mental     
health organizations1 agricultural      
organizations1 and other stakeholders in
 conducting the study4  7d7 ,report ,not
 later than #ahj days after the date of 
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,agriculture shall submit 
to the ,committee on ,agriculture of the
 ,house of ,representatives and the     
,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 
and ,forestry of the ,senate a report   
containing the findings of the study    
under subsection 7a74  7e7              
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this section #a1jjj1jjj for   

each of fiscal years #bjbf through      
#bjbi4