WASHINGTON – Legislation that would provide funding and assistance to rural health care and education passed the House on Wednesday.
The new H.R. 5894 included 11 amendments and 14 appropriations requests proposed by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert. The included legislation provides benefits to rural communities by implementing mental health telehealth services to veterans, providing funding for rural hospitals, education funding for Indigenous communities and providing further funding for rural schools.
Though amendments included in the legislation passed with bipartisan support, a statement released by the President Joe Biden’s Administration said in a statement on Monday said that Biden would veto H.R. 5894 if presented it.
“Redirecting wasteful spending in the bill to important Third Congressional District priorities is just common sense,” Boebert said in a news release. “I’m thrilled my bipartisan colleagues in the House supported my efforts to prioritize more resources for rural hospitals, increase access to telehealth services for 2.8 million rural veterans, combat wasteful and fraudulent health care spending, strengthen charter schools, support physician workforce expansion in rural areas, and address the unique challenges of rural and Indian education.”
The legislation would transfer a total of $10 million from the Health and Human Services General Department of Management to various programs and areas of funding for rural health services.
A planned $2 million would be transferred to the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program, which would provide support to rural hospitals by investing in technology and training.
Another $2 million will be transferred to implement telehealth services for rural veterans. This would improve coordination between rural providers and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Over 54,000 veterans live in Colorado’s Third Congressional District, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Suicide prevention research would also receive $2 million in funding. There were 1,287 total suicides in Colorado in 2022, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In 2022, Mental Health America designated Colorado as having the highest prevalence of mental illness compared to all 51 states.
Additional transferred funding will go to the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Program, which informs and supports the adoption of the Rural Emergency Hospital model. This includes analysis, workforce planning and community assessments.
The Rural Residency Planning and Development Program will also receive funding to support physician workforce expansion through rural residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine and psychiatry services.
The legislation also provides $4 million in funding for charter school grants and the Rural School Programs, which addresses rural school closures and resource shortages. In 2023, there were 147 rural school districts in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Education, including many school districts in Southwest Colorado.
The Office of Indian Education would also receive $2 million to provide educational services with funding and improved infrastructure. This amendment would redirect funds from unnecessary expenditures to support Indigenous communities' education.
Other legislative additions made to H.R. 5894 include reducing funding for the National Institutes of Health, increasing funding for the Inspector General, preventing funding from going to Planned Parenthood and providing over $1.9 billion in funding to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Weslan Hansen is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at whansen@durangoherald.com.
