THOMPSON, GALLAGHER ANNOUNCE HISTORIC BIPARTISAN BILL TO REVITALIZE RURAL AMERICA

Northern California - Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-04) and Rep. James Gallagher (R-CA-01) introduced their bipartisan Revitalize Rural America Act (RRAA) to jumpstart rural economies in Northern California and across our country. The RRAA will expand rural health care access, boost support for local agriculture, and help rural communities bring home more federal funding for everything from infrastructure to education.

"Our rural communities are struggling to remain competitive and provide critical services," said Thompson. "Our landmark, bipartisan bill boosts access to health care services, makes rural housing more affordable, brings workers back to rural areas, and delivers needed relief to farmers and ranchers. This legislation marks a huge first step in boosting our rural economies and bringing relief to the nearly 50 million Americans living in rural communities nationwide."

"Rural communities are too often an afterthought in Washington, and the people I represent know the consequences. When a hospital struggles to keep its doors open or a family farm can't make the numbers work anymore, the entire community feels it. The bipartisan Revitalize Rural America Act is about making sure rural Americans have a fair shot and the tools they need to keep their communities strong. I'm proud to work across the aisle with Congressman Thompson to get this done," said Gallagher.

One in seven Americans live in rural America, and rural communities in the U.S. generate over $2 trillion in economic output each year. Our rural communities make significant contributions to U.S. culture and our economy. But these communities are falling behind and need support to succeed.

The bipartisan Revitalize Rural America Act would strengthen rural communities by keeping hospitals open, expanding access to doctors and telehealth, and helping small towns secure federal resources. The bill makes key telehealth flexibilities permanent, supports the recruitment of essential workers to underserved areas, creates a refundable payroll tax credit for rural hospitals, and provides technical assistance to help rural communities compete for federal grants.

The legislation also supports rural workers, farmers, and local economies by reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens, improving coordination across federal rural development programs, and providing tax relief for the sale of qualifying agricultural property. Together, these provisions address the interconnected challenges facing rural America, including health care shortages, limited government capacity, rising costs, and the loss of family farms and other economic anchors.

BACKGROUND

The RRAA covers the following issue areas:

Healthcare
Rural Americans face challenges accessing healthcare services. The nearest hospital or specialist may be hours away, and many rural health centers are in need of more physicians, nurses, surgeons and medical staff. The RRAA helps improve access to healthcare in a several ways:

• Expands access to telehealth for rural Americans on Medicare.
• Requires telehealth accessibility resources, guidance, and training be provided to beneficiaries, healthcare providers, and health IT vendors so more people know how they can see their doctor.
• Makes it easier for international students who study at an American medical school to stay in the United States to practice medicine and rewards physicians who practice in medically underserved communities.
• Creates an employee retention tax credit for rural hospitals to keep healthcare jobs in rural areas.

Infrastructure
The application process for federal grants, loans and other programs is often complex and time-intensive, and many rural governments don't have the time and expertise to understand what programs they qualify for and apply for them. The RRAA expands technical assistance for rural governments applying for federal programs.

Agriculture
California lost 400 family farms last year and farmers and ranchers continue to face rising operational costs - from the price of fertilizer to the price of diesel. The RRAA will help support farmers and ranchers in several ways:

• Provides a capital gains tax exemption for farmland owners who sell their land to young farmers or to family members, making it easier for young farmers to get their start and encouraging rural family farms to stay locally owned.
• Initiates a report to investigate the costs farmers take on to comply with federal regulations. The report will also suggest changes to federal regulations to ease farmers' compliance costs.

Education
Rural employment growth has slowed in recent years and rural communities are facing a shrinking workforce. Changes to education policy could help entice young graduates to stay in their rural community rather than leave for metropolitan areas. To help address this workforce shortage, the RRAA provides student loan forgiveness for borrowers who work in public service in rural areas.

Public Safety
Employment shortages impact public safety and public service jobs in rural communities. That's why the RRAA encourages more rural Americans to consider jobs serving their community:

• Creates a tax break for rural state, local, and Tribal employees in essential public-service fields like public safety, engineering, planning and permitting, public health, legal and judicial services, or agricultural services.
• Helps small, rural police forces with accreditation and hiring.

Housing
Forty-four percent of rural renter households and 19 percent of rural homeowning households are cost burdened. The RRAA addresses the need for more affordable housing in rural communities:

• Reclassifies rural areas and Tribal lands to qualify for more federal housing tax credits, making it more affordable to build new units.
• Provides grants, tax credits, and technical assistance for home and business owners to harden their properties against wildfires and other natural disasters to help bring insurance costs down and bring insurers back to rural markets.
• Creates a federal income tax break for property owners who receive state payments to reduce windstorm, earthquake, or wildfire damage.

The Revitalize Rural America Act is endorsed by the National Association of Rural Health Clinics. Read a section-by-section summary of the bill here and read the full text of the bill here.

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Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 4th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-responsible Blue Dog Coalition.