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Witnesses warn rural hospitals, water and childcare face crisis; Community Facilities program cited as key tool
Summary
At a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing witnesses raised alarms about rural hospital and maternity‑care closures, aging water and wastewater systems, and lack of childcare. They said USDA's Community Facilities program and targeted grant funding are often the only practical federal tools for saving local services.
Multiple witnesses at a House subcommittee hearing told members that rural hospitals, water systems and childcare capacities are under strain, and that USDA Rural Development's Community Facilities and related programs are often the practical mechanism to preserve local services.
Ranking Member Craig described recent clinic and hospital closures in Minnesota, and several witnesses described specific local impacts. A Potter County commissioner said his region has become a "seven‑county maternity desert" after a hospital stopped providing…
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