NRHA statement on Senate Farm Bill 2.0 passage out of committee

PRESS RELEASE 

National Rural Health Association 

October 6, 2026 

The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) applauds the Senate Agriculture Committee for passing its 2026 Farm Bill, the S.5526 the Agricultural Act of 2026 out of committee on September 16, 2026. The bill now advances to the Senate floor. Earlier this year, the House Agriculture Committee’s 2026 Farm Bill, H.R. 7567 the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, passed the House on a bipartisan basis.  

NRHA looks forward to Congress enacting a comprehensive, bipartisan Farm Bill and urges the Senate to quickly pass this legislation through the Senate floor to support rural communities.     

The Farm Bill is an opportunity to improve health care access for agricultural workers and their families, build rural economic and community development, and enhance the overall quality of life in rural communities. Importantly, the Senate version includes S. 4141, the Rural Hospital Revitalization Act, which provides 0% interest loans for rural hospital infrastructure investments through the Community Facilities Direct Loan program.  Both the Senate and House version include H.R. 1417/ S.1282 the Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025 to expand and codify the USDA program that provides tailored technical assistance and training to hospital facilities to identify development needs for maintaining essential health care services and support action plans for financial, operational, and quality improvement projects to meet these needs.  

Please find NRHA’s letter of support for the Senate Bill and the House Bill. For more information on NRHA’s Farm Bill priorities, please review our policy paper and legislative priorities. We encourage rural advocates to utilize NRHA’s Farm Bill Advocacy Campaign to urge the Senate to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill to support rural communities.