I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5246 
To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to reauthorize 
the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network and establish a national 
agricultural crisis hotline, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 22, 2023 
Ms. CARAVEO (for herself, Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, and Mr. DAVIS of 
North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 
to reauthorize the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance 
Network and establish a national agricultural crisis hot-
line, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Agricultural 
Crisis Hotline Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) the suicide rate for farmers is 3.5 times 
higher than the suicide rate of the general popu-
lation; 
(2) male farmers and ranchers have signifi-
cantly higher rates of suicide (43.2 per 100,000) 
compared to the average rate of suicide across other 
professions (27.4 per 100,000); 
(3) the percentage of adults ages 26 and older 
that live in completely rural areas has increased be-
tween 2019 and 2020, making completely rural 
areas the most afflicted county types with respect to 
alcohol abuse; and 
(4) evidence suggests that the stigma sur-
rounding mental health in farming and ranching 
communities has decreased but still plays a signifi-
cant role in influencing behavior. 
SEC. 3. FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NETWORK. 
Section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5936) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec-
tively; and 
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following: 
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‘‘(C) mental health training for agriculture 
professionals (including farm loan officers, ex-
tension agents, and State department of agri-
culture staff);’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) 
as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; 
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CRISIS HOTLINE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Farm and 
Ranch Stress Assistance Network established under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish, and 
maintain directly or by grant or contract, a national 
agricultural crisis hotline (referred to in this sub-
section as the ‘national agricultural crisis hotline’) to 
provide emotional support, information, suicide crisis 
intervention, mental health and substance use dis-
order, and agricultural support resources to— 
‘‘(A) farmers, farm managers, farm work-
ers, and ranchers affected by mental health and 
substance use disorders; and 
‘‘(B) families or household members of 
those farmers, farm managers, farm workers, 
and ranchers. 
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‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The national agricul-
tural crisis hotline shall— 
‘‘(A) provide 24/7 real-time live assistance 
by voice and through a mobile texting applica-
tion; 
‘‘(B) be staffed 24/7 in accordance with 
paragraph (4); 
‘‘(C) provide referral services to meet the 
needs of family and household members of 
farmers, ranchers, and related professionals; 
‘‘(D) offer 24-hour follow-up calls to call-
ers; 
‘‘(E) provide standardized translation serv-
ices that meet the needs of the agricultural pop-
ulation; and 
‘‘(F) comply with all Federal, State, and 
local laws, including the Health Insurance Port-
ability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public 
Law 104–191; 110 Stat. 1936). 
‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION.—The national agricul-
tural crisis hotline shall collect the following data: 
‘‘(A) Call data, including total calls, calls 
queued, calls answered, calls dropped, and aver-
age speed of answer. 
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‘‘(B) Rescue data, including next steps 
suggested and information provided to the call-
er. 
‘‘(C) Follow-up calls. 
‘‘(D) Caller information, including— 
‘‘(i) whether the caller is calling for 
the first time or is a repeat caller; 
‘‘(ii) the living situation of the caller; 
and 
‘‘(iii) demographic information of the 
caller. 
‘‘(E) Reason for call and caller needs and 
concerns. 
‘‘(F) Referrals provided, including re-
sources provided and strategies employed with 
respect to addressing the needs and concerns of 
callers. 
‘‘(4) STAFFING.—Call responders and super-
visors of call responders operating the national agri-
cultural crisis hotline shall— 
‘‘(A) be crisis intervention specialists, li-
censed health care professionals, or licensed 
mental health professionals who— 
‘‘(i) are trained in providing culturally 
and linguistically appropriate support; 
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‘‘(ii) have awareness training with re-
spect to farm stress and the farming iden-
tity; and 
‘‘(iii) have credentials that enable 
them to provide evidence-based suicide 
intervention hotline care, including accredi-
tation from the American Association of 
Suicidology and the Alliance of Informa-
tion and Referral Systems; and 
‘‘(B) meet training requirements developed 
by the Secretary or the entity maintaining the 
hotline, as applicable, which, at a minimum, 
shall include— 
‘‘(i) at least 80 hours of interactive 
training and content, which shall include— 
‘‘(I) elements of applied suicide 
intervention skills training; 
‘‘(II) information and training on 
providing trauma informed support; 
and 
‘‘(III) training and content on 
other relevant clinical topics; 
‘‘(ii) foundational agriculture mental 
stress training that includes metrics that 
demonstrate competency; 
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‘‘(iii) a minimum of 24 hours of direct 
supervised shifts before answering calls 
independently; and 
‘‘(iv) ongoing training on specialized 
topics on at least a quarterly basis. 
‘‘(5) PARTNERSHIPS.— 
‘‘(A) EXISTING HOTLINES.—The Secretary 
or an entity receiving a grant or contract under 
paragraph (1), as applicable, shall form part-
nerships between the national agricultural crisis 
hotline and existing farm telephone helplines 
and websites. 
‘‘(B) USDA AND OTHER FEDERAL PRO-
GRAMS.—The Secretary shall coordinate with— 
‘‘(i) the Federal Office of Rural 
Health Policy and offices of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture that administer finan-
cial assistance programs to farmers and 
ranchers to provide information about the 
national agricultural crisis hotline to par-
ticipants of those programs; and 
‘‘(ii) the Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration to refer ag-
riculture related calls received through the 
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988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to the na-
tional agricultural crisis hotline. 
‘‘(6) DIRECTORY.—The Secretary or an entity 
receiving a grant or contract under paragraph (1), 
as applicable, shall develop, and periodically update, 
a directory of organizations to which staff of the na-
tional agricultural crisis hotline can make referrals. 
‘‘(7) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall, in con-
sultation with the Department of Health and 
Human Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration, any other relevant 
Federal agencies, and State departments of health 
and agriculture, conduct a public awareness cam-
paign for the national agricultural crisis hotline. 
‘‘(8) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to 
Congress and make publicly available an annual re-
port on the effectiveness of the national agricultural 
crisis hotline.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 
through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, of which 
$4,000,000 each fiscal year shall be used to carry 
out subsection (d)’’. 
Æ 
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