{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/tokuda-harshbarger-lead-bipartisan-coalition-in-marking-national-rural-health-day-call-for-transformational-action", "Tokuda, Harshbarger Lead Bipartisan Coalition in Marking National Rural Health Day, Call for Transformational Action", "2025-11-20", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Jill N. Tokuda", "T000487", "tokuda.house.gov", "tokuda", "https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases?PageNum_rs=2&", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 This week, Representatives Jill Tokuda (HI-02) and Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), co-chairs of the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, led Members of Congress in celebrating National Rural Health Day and highlighting the urgent need for bipartisan efforts to expand access, improve services, and strengthen rural healthcare systems.\n\n\u201cNational Rural Health Day is a chance to honor the communities that keep this country moving: the farmers, teachers, k\u016bpuna, health workers, first responders, small business owners, and families who fuel our local economies and preserve our way of life. It\u2019s also a moment for Congress to recognize that rural communities face challenges that are different not because they are less\u2014but because they are too often asked to survive systems that were not built for them.\n\nRural America needs a chance to be known as more than just resilient\u2014it deserves a chance to thrive,\u201d said Rep. Tokuda.\n\nReps. Tokuda and Harshbarger convened a Special Order Hour on the House Floor with Caucus members to illustrate the critical challenges confronting rural healthcare and promote legislative solutions that improve telehealth and behavioral health access, strengthen EMS capacity, and support the rural workforce pipeline. The Members\u2019 remarks can be viewed here.\n\nThe Co-Chairs also convened a roundtable discussion focused on Medicare site neutral payment reforms and the potential impact on rural hospitals and clinics, provider stability, and patient access. Photos from the convening can be viewed here.\n\nCapping off the week, Tokuda and Harshbarger introduced H.Res. 891, a resolution recognizing Thursday, November 20, 2025, as \u201cNational Rural Health Day\u201d and expressing the House\u2019s commitment to advancing policies to improve health care accessibility and affordability in rural areas. The resolution text and list of cosponsors can be found online here.\n\nRep. Tokuda\u2019s call for action during \u201cNational Rural Health Month\u201d follows months of on-the-ground visits across Moloka\u02bbi, Maui, Hawai\u02bbi Island, and Kaua\u02bbi, where she visited hospitals, community health centers, independent physicians and specialists, and medical residents and faculty to hear directly from those delivering care in Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s most rural and remote communities.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/tokuda-harshbarger-lead-bipartisan-coalition-in-marking-national-rural-health-day-call-for-transformational-action"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9453329257667065, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}