The Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing on President Trump’s 2026 health care agenda.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to a question from Committee Chairman Mike Crapo about rural hospital funding, which is what some lawmakers are calling a key feature in the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
“We’ve had 120 rural hospitals closed over the past ten years. These institutions are not just delivering health access to rural Americans, but they’re economic centers that are cultural centers for those communities are often the largest employer. They are the highest-paying jobs. and they are the centerpiece of those communities. So when they die, the communities collapse.”
Kennedy said the legislation includes a historic $50 billion investment in rural health over the next five years, which he says is a 50 percent increase in federal support to help stem the crisis facing rural hospitals. While some critics have blamed the bill for recent struggles in the sector, Chairman Crapo pushed back, saying those issues predate the legislation.
President Donald Trump says a deal is nearly done on lowering beef prices, but he has not released details.
October 17, 2025 11:31 AM
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Large carryover stocks continue to put pressure on commodity prices, creating uncertainty for growers looking to market their grain.
October 16, 2025 04:20 PM
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Farm CPA Paul Neiffer outlines how producers should navigate evolving Farm Bill provisions and prepare their operations for the next crop year.
October 16, 2025 04:14 PM
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The impacts of the government shutdown have reached commodity growers with crops to move, ag economists monitoring the harvest without key data reporting, and meat producers in need of new export markets.
October 16, 2025 01:03 PM
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In a statement provided to RFD-TV News, a USDA spokesperson reiterated President Trump and the USDA’s commitment to farmers in difficult economic times.
October 16, 2025 11:57 AM
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China is not one of our top suppliers of cooking oil, according to USDA ERS data, but does export a lot of used cooking oil to the U.S. for biofuel production.
October 15, 2025 12:13 PM
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