US Department of Agriculture

Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new toolkit to help support the deployment of high-speed broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities. The e-Connectivity Toolkit features 27 USDA programs that support broadband deployment. The easy-to-use resource is a simple guide that allows customers to identify their type of e-Connectivity project and locate resources the federal government offers for planning, equipment, construction, research and other e-Connectivity projects.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the US Department of Agriculture is awarding grants for 128 projects to increase access to job training, educational and health care services in rural areas. USDA is awarding $39.6 million through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program. More than 4.5 million residents in 40 states and three territories will benefit from the funding. Investments include:

Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $200 million in infrastructure projects to bring broadband to hundreds of unserved and underserved rural communities.  Hazlett discussed USDA’s work to expand broadband access in rural areas during a visit today to Upshur County (WV).

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released the final year-end report of the Obama administration's results creating jobs and investing in rural communities nationwide. The report includes success stories from every state illustrating the many ways USDA helps create jobs, make infrastructure improvements and boost economic development. Some of USDA's accomplishments since 2009 include providing high-speed broadband access to 6 million rural Americans.

At the White House Rural Forum convened Oct 5 at Pennsylvania State University, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $32 million in loans and grants that will promote economic development and provide access to broadband in more than 80 rural American communities. Sec Vilsack, who is chair of the first-ever White House Rural Council, convened the forum with rural policy, business and nonprofit leaders to discuss pertinent issues facing rural communities, including opportunities for economic growth and strategies for improving health care and housing. "This funding will provide much-needed capital and bring cutting-edge technology to rural communities across the country," Sec Vilsack said. "Investments in our rural businesses and communities, coupled with extending high-speed broadband, have led to a resurgence of economic development, created jobs and improved the quality of life in rural America. While we have made great progress, our work to extend capital and technology to rural America is not done." Some of the new investments include:

$3 Billion Invested in Rural Infrastructure Projects: In 2014, USDA launched a public-private partnership with Capitol Peak Asset Management and CoBank, a national cooperative bank and member of the Farm Credit System. Since 2014, more than $3 billion in private sector funding has been lent to over 400 financings of projects in the power, water, communications and community facilities industries.'
$7.7 Million in New Grants to Bring Broadband to 6 Unserved Communities: USDA's Community Connect program provides funding for broadband deployment into unserved areas. Since 2009, USDA Rural Development broadband programs have helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses.'
Health Information Technology Investments: HHS's Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is investing approximately $36 million in rurally-located health centers to support strategic investments in Health Information Technology. The investments will help health centers enhance their health IT and better prepare providers and staff to use health IT and data.

[Commentary] Over the last eight years, my Administration has worked hand-in-hand with rural communities to build more opportunity – investing in rural schools, supporting rural small business owners, deploying high speed Internet and wireless, and building partnerships between businesses and colleges to help train folks not just for a job, but for a career. And for those struggling with opioid use, we've expanded access to treatment to help them get the care they need. So we're making progress – progress that's possible only because of the strength and resilience of the people in our rural communities.

In Pikeville (KY) former coal miners are trading coal for code. They're retraining to learn HTML, JavaScript, and PHP, transforming an old bottling factory into a digital hub. It's a transition that not only supports good jobs, but also offers a glimpse of what the future could look like in other communities like Pikeville. In Piedmont (AL) school leaders have invested in high-speed connectivity and laptops for every student, so that teachers can tailor lessons to individual students and assess each student's progress in real time. Already, test scores and graduation rates are up, and tiny Piedmont City School District has emerged as a national model for digital learning. That's what rural America can look like in the 21st Century. Smart investments that lead to real, tangible progress. Today, rural unemployment has dropped from a high of about ten percent during the Great Recession to six percent. The rural child poverty rate is dropping, and rural median household incomes are rising again. In so many ways, from its resilience and ingenuity in the face of a challenge to the defining values that power it every day, rural America represents that beating heart. That's why these communities are so important – because when America's rural communities are strong, America is strong.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack awarded nearly $40 million in loans for new or improved broadband service in rural parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas.

The loans are being funded through USDA Rural Utilities Service's Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program to finance projects to expand voice, video and data services.

"Broadband is essential to the economic strength of rural communities," Sec Vilsack said. "It improves access to education and quality health care, and it leads to new jobs and business opportunities. Broadband is part of everyday life in most of America and vital for economic success in the 21st Century. Rural America cannot be left out."