H.R. 1246 — Investing in Rural America Act of 2025

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Investing in Rural America Act of 2025.”

This section establishes new authority for Farm Credit System institutions, including Farm Credit Banks, direct lender associations, and banks for cooperatives, to make and participate in loans and provide related technical and financial assistance for essential community facilities projects in rural areas that are eligible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. As background, essential community facilities include public or nonprofit facilities that support rural communities, such as health, safety, and educational infrastructure. This section limits that authority by: (1) allowing financing or assistance only to entities eligible under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act; (2) capping the aggregate amount of financing or assistance a Farm Credit System institution may provide under this section at 15 percent of the institution’s total outstanding loans; and (3) requiring the institution, before providing financing or assistance, to offer an interest in the financing on reasonable terms to at least 1 domestic lending institution other than the Department of Agriculture and to report that offer to the Farm Credit Administration. (Thus, the provision is designed to leverage private and cooperative lending alongside Farm Credit System support.) It also requires the institution to give priority to community banks located in the service area of the facility being financed. This section directs the Farm Credit Administration to submit an annual report to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry within 1 year after enactment and annually thereafter on activities carried out under this authority, including partnerships with other lending institutions, and to post the report on its website. This section takes effect on October 1, 2025.