Economic Recovery Package benefts Rural America

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) says the economic recovery package contains key provisions that will direct crucial funding toward rural development, nutrition and conservation initiatives, many of which were included in the farm bill. Harkin is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Seven Rural Development and Conservation Highlights

1. Broadband: $2.5 billion for grants, loans and guarantees through the Rural Utility Service, to provide improved broadband availability in rural areas.

2. Rural Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants: $1.38 billion to support $968 million in grants and $2.8 billion in loans to eliminate the approved application backlog.

3. Agricultural Research Service Building Improvements: $176 million in funding to address the deferred maintenance of the ARS’s aging laboratory and research infrastructure. Funding from this provision could be used to address the over $20 million in improvement need at the Animal Disease Lab in Ames, Iowa.

4. Rural Housing Assistance: $200 million to support $11.4 billion in direct and guaranteed loans that will provide home ownership opportunities for low to moderate-income families in rural areas.

5. Rural Community Facility Program for towns of under 20,000: $130 million to support $1.17 billion in loans and $67 million in grants with an emphasis on day care and elder care facilities, hospitals, health clinics and public safety.

6. Business & Industry Loan Guarantee Program: $150 million to support $3 billion in guarantees and $20 million in related grants particularly important for many businesses facing credit difficulties. These loans and grants will help bolster the existing credit structure to improve, develop, or finance business, industry, and employment to improve the economic climate in rural communities of fewer than 50,000 people.

7. Watershed Flood and Prevention Operations: $290 million was provided for this program, with $145 million set aside for the purchase and restoration of floodplains. The floodplain easement funding is particularly important to Iowa, which has an existing backlog of floodplain easements.