SA 3683. Mr. FEINGOLD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3500 proposed by Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. GRASSLEY) to the bill H.R. 2419, to provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title I, insert the following:
Subtitle H--Flexible State Funds


SEC. 1941. OFFSET.
(a) Offset.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Except as provided in paragraph (3) and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, for the period beginning on October 1, 2007, and ending on September 30, 2017, the Secretary shall reduce the total amount of payments described in paragraph (2) received by the producers on a farm by 30 percent.
(2) PAYMENT.--A payment described in this paragraph is a payment in an amount of more than $10,000 for the crop year that is--
(A) a direct payment for a covered commodity or peanuts received by the producers on a farm for a crop year under section 1103 or 1303; or
(B) the fixed payment component of an average crop revenue payment for a covered commodity or peanuts received by the producers on a farm for a crop year under section 1401(b)(2).
(3) APPLICATION.--This subsection does not apply to a payment provided under a contract entered into by the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Savings.--The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that any savings resulting from subsection (a) are used to carry out section 379F of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (as added by section 1942) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
SEC. 1942. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) (as amended by section 6028) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 379F. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND QUALITY OF RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.--The term `health information technology' includes total expenditures incurred for--
``(A) purchasing, leasing, and installing computer software and hardware, including handheld computer technologies, and related services;
``(B) making improvements to computer software and hardware;
``(C) purchasing or leasing communications capabilities necessary for clinical data access, storage, and exchange;
``(D) services associated with acquiring, implementing, operating, or optimizing the use of computer software and hardware and clinical health care informatics systems;
``(E) providing education and training to rural health facility staff on information systems and technology designed to improve patient safety and quality of care; and
``(F) purchasing, leasing, subscribing, or servicing support to establish interoperability that--
``(i) integrates patient-specific clinical data with well-established national treatment guidelines;
``(ii) provides continuous quality improvement functions that allow providers to assess improvement rates over time and against averages for similar providers; and
``(iii) integrates with larger health networks.
``(2) RURAL AREA.--The term `rural area' means any area of the United States that is not--
``(A) included in the boundaries of any city, town, borough, or village, whether incorporated or unincorporated, with a population of more than 20,000 residents; or
``(B) an urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to such a city, town, borough, or village.
``(3) RURAL HEALTH FACILITY.--The term `rural health facility' means any of--
``(A) a hospital (as defined in section 1861(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)));
``(B) a critical access hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm)));
``(C) a Federally qualified health center (as defined in section 1861(aa) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa))) that is located in a rural area;
``(D) a rural health clinic (as defined in that section (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)));
``(E) a medicare-dependent, small rural hospital (as defined in section 1886(d)(5)(G) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(5)(G))); and
``(F) a physician or physician group practice that is located in a rural area.
``(b) Establishment of Program.--Using amounts provided under section 1941(b) of the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, the Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall provide grants to rural health facilities for the purpose of assisting the rural health facilities in--
``(1) purchasing health information technology to improve the quality of health care or patient safety; or
``(2) otherwise improving the quality of health care or patient safety, including through the development of--
``(A) quality improvement support structures to assist rural health facilities and professionals--
``(i) to increase integration of personal and population health services; and
``(ii) to address safety, effectiveness, patient- or community-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity; and
``(B) innovative approaches to the financing and delivery of health services to achieve rural health quality goals.
``(c) Amount of Grant.--The Secretary shall determine the amount of a grant provided under this section.
``(d) Provision of Information.--A rural health facility that receives a grant under this section shall provide to the Secretary such information as the Secretary may require--
``(1) to evaluate the project for which the grant is used; and
``(2) to ensure that the grant is expended for the purposes for which the grant was provided.''.


(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Nov 15, 2007.)