Today it was announced by U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice that the USDA will lead a new program from the Biden Administration aimed at helping rural communities access resources and funding, create employment opportunities, build and maintain infrastructure, and support economic stability.
If you are excited about what this could mean for Iowa, pump your brakes. We aren?t even on the list now, or in the immediate future.
The Biden Administration is keeping up its ?Building a Better America Rural Infrastructure Tour.? This was kicked off with last week?s Menlo, IA visit. Today, the Ag Secretary and Ambassador Rice were in Clarksdale, MS to announce the new partnership program with USDA and rural America. The pilot program is launching in the communities and tribal areas of five states: Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Arizona. There will be a second round of states that will be added in the coming few months. Those will be in Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and tribal areas in Alaska.
Yes, you saw that correctly. Puerto Rico is going to be getting rural community assistance before all midwestern states, except for Wisconsin. Before we get into to that, let?s look at what the program aims to do.
Senior Administration Official Stefanie Feldman says this is Biden Administration living up to the promise made on the campaign trail in rural America. That it is going to help these small communities upgrade the services needed by its citizens. These programs will help rural communities have help in accessing the resources they need.
Justin Maxson with the USDA Rural Development says this is about getting resources to communities in rural America that have been underserved for some time. He talks about the implementation of the network.
The list of locations that were mentioned above will be the only locations that will be implemented in 2022. Maxson says once more funding is appropriated, the next set of states will be announced.
You will notice that Iowa is one of many midwestern states that didn?t get included in round one or two. Many Ag broadcasters had the same question, ?when can we tell our citizens that this program will be coming here?? No definitive answer was given by the Administration officials yesterday.
It was asked why the only states being named are states that were battleground states in 2020 or look to be battleground states in the 2022 elections. Again, no clear answer was given.
You don?t have to be biased for either party to see where the targets are being placed. Any region that is solidly red or blue in the upcoming election has no timetable to get assistance from the program. Even though, many of these states make up the lion?s share of rural America.
If you have questions or concerns, make them heard to your elected representation in Washington. But for now, Iowa has no timetable for receiving assistance. So, it seems you should have plenty of time to raise those concerns.
