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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 12, 2025
Investing in Rural America Act of 2025
This bill allows Farm Credit System (FCS) institutions to make and participate in loans and commitments (and extend other technical and financial assistance) for essential community facility projects as part of the Department of Agriculture's Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program. This program provides funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas.
The FCS financing and technical assistance may be provided in order to make capital available to develop, build, maintain, improve, or provide related equipment or other support for essential community facilities in rural communities (e.g., certain facilities that provide healthcare, community support, public safety, educational, or utility services).
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Under the bill, the financing provided by an FCS institution may not exceed 15% of the total of all outstanding loans of the institution. Further, an FCS institution must (1) offer at least one non-FCS lending institution an interest in the financing under reasonable terms and conditions acceptable to the borrower, and (2) report the offer to the Farm Credit Administration (FCA).
The FCA must submit an annual report to Congress on the activities undertaken by FCS institutions under this bill, including through the partnerships between FCS institutions and other lending institutions. The FCA must post the report on the administration's website.
People & committees
Rep. Fischbach, Michelle [R-MN-7] · R–MN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Mar 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-12 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Investing in Rural America Act of 2025 would let specified Farm Credit System lenders finance and otherwise support eligible rural community facilities. Assistance would be limited to eligible projects and recipients under an existing federal financing law. Each lender would face a cap tied to its outstanding loans and would have to offer another lender a share of the financing, giving priority to local community banks.
This Act may be cited as the Investing in Rural America Act of 2025.
A Farm Credit Bank, direct lender association, or bank for cooperatives chartered under this Act may, for the purpose of making available capital to develop, build, maintain, improve, or provide related equipment or other support for essential community facilities in rural areas, make and participate in loans and commitments, and extend other technical and financial assistance for projects for essential community facilities eligible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Only an entity eligible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act may receive financing or any other assistance under subsection (a) of this section.
A Farm Credit System institution described in subsection (a) shall not provide financing or assistance under this section in an aggregate amount that exceeds 15 percent of the total of all outstanding loans of the institution.
has offered, under reasonable terms and conditions acceptable to the borrower involved, an interest in the financing to at least 1 domestic lending institution not referred to in subsection (a) other than the Department of Agriculture
the Farm Credit System institution shall give priority to community banks located in the service area of the essential community facility being financed.
The bill would authorize, but not require, Farm Credit Banks, direct lender associations, and banks for cooperatives chartered under the Farm Credit Act to make or participate in loans and financing commitments and provide technical or financial assistance. The support could cover developing, building, maintaining, or improving eligible rural community facilities, as well as related equipment or other support.
A Farm Credit Bank, direct lender association, or bank for cooperatives chartered under this Act may, for the purpose of making available capital to develop, build, maintain, improve, or provide related equipment or other support for essential community facilities in rural areas, make and participate in loans and commitments, and extend other technical and financial assistance for projects for essential community facilities eligible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Both the facility project and the entity receiving assistance would have to qualify under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. The supplied bill does not reproduce that law's eligibility rules.
for projects for essential community facilities eligible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Only an entity eligible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act may receive financing or any other assistance under subsection (a) of this section.
A participating Farm Credit System institution's total financing or assistance under this authority could not exceed 15 percent of the total amount of its outstanding loans.
A Farm Credit System institution described in subsection (a) shall not provide financing or assistance under this section in an aggregate amount that exceeds 15 percent of the total of all outstanding loans of the institution.
Before providing financing or assistance, the institution would have to offer a share of the financing to at least one domestic lender outside the listed Farm Credit lender categories; the Department of Agriculture could not satisfy this requirement. The offer would need reasonable terms acceptable to the borrower and would have to be reported to the Farm Credit Administration. This requirement calls for an offer, not acceptance by the other lender.
A Farm Credit System institution shall not provide financing or assistance under this section unless the institution— (i) has offered, under reasonable terms and conditions acceptable to the borrower involved, an interest in the financing to at least 1 domestic lending institution not referred to in subsection (a) other than the Department of Agriculture; and (ii) has reported the offer to the Farm Credit Administration.
When offering another lender a share of the financing, the Farm Credit System institution would have to give priority to community banks in the financed facility's service area.
In offering an interest in a financing to a domestic lending institution described in subparagraph (A)(i), the Farm Credit System institution shall give priority to community banks located in the service area of the essential community facility being financed.
Within one year after enactment and annually afterward, the Farm Credit Administration would have to report on activities under the new authority, including partnerships with other lenders. It would submit the report to the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee and publish it on its website.
Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Farm Credit Administration shall provide a report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on the activities undertaken pursuant to this section by Farm Credit System institutions during the period covered by the report, including through partnerships between such an institution and other lending institutions, which shall also be posted on the website of the Farm Credit Administration.
The introduced bill specifies October 1, 2025, as the effective date for its amendment to the Farm Credit Act. This proposed date does not establish that the amendment took effect.
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2025.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated March 10, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Agriculture Committee on February 12, 2025. It also records referrals on March 20, 2025, to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development and the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
Source snapshot updated 2026-03-10T08:05:45Z. 2025-03-20: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development. 2025-03-20: Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit. 2025-02-12: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. 2025-02-12: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-12. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of absent earmark disclosures or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a specific participation preference within the bill's main financing policy.
Community banks located in a financed facility's service area would receive priority when a Farm Credit System institution offers another lender a share of the financing. This gives those local community banks preferential access to participation opportunities, without guaranteeing that they will participate.
has offered, under reasonable terms and conditions acceptable to the borrower involved, an interest in the financing to at least 1 domestic lending institution not referred to in subsection (a) other than the Department of Agriculture
In offering an interest in a financing to a domestic lending institution described in subparagraph (A)(i), the Farm Credit System institution shall give priority to community banks located in the service area of the essential community facility being financed.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Mar 10, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI