State of the Union: Cabinet in Your Community

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Title: State of the Union: Cabinet in Your Community

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STATE OF THE UNION: CABINET IN YOUR COMMUNITY

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

 

In the days immediately following the State of the Union, Cabinet officials are embarking on the “State of the Union: Cabinet In Your Community” road tour to engage Americans in small towns, big cities and Indian country about the advancements the Administration has made on the most important issues facing the American people, as well as the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. The President will make clear in his State of the Union address that the true test is not the challenges we face, but how we approach those challenges. That’s why he and his Cabinet will keep their feet on the gas in this final stretch to continue driving toward solutions that will move this country forward for generations to come, while highlighting the progress that has been made over the past seven years.

 

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Since 2009, USDA’s partnership with America's rural communities has supported the emergence of a more vibrant, diverse rural economy led by makers, creators and innovators. Under the leadership of President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA has made investments that are transforming the lives of Americans living, working and raising families in small towns and communities across the country. Today, those investments are blossoming across the United States in the burgeoning bio-economy, an exploding local and regional food system, unparalleled advancements in renewable energy, improved nutrition for young people and low-income individuals, historic partnerships in conservation and greenhouse gas reduction, major investments in rural infrastructure, and laying the foundation for a new era for civil rights that will help ensure all Americans are treated with dignity and respect.

 

Growing the economy by investing in rural communities and increasing opportunities for families is key to our Nation's future. That is why in 2010, Secretary Vilsack established the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s StrikeForce Initiative for Rural Growth and Opportunity, to address the specific challenges associated with rural poverty and lack of opportunity.

 

Today, January 15, Secretary Vilsack announced USDA is expanding StrikeForce to four new states: Ohio, Florida, Missouri and Montana. The Secretary will make the announcement at a Rural Opportunity Town Hall at The Ohio State University. Eleven counties in Ohio will be designated as StrikeForce counties. During the course of the Obama Administration, USDA has invested more than $36.8 billion in Ohio to help to bring transformative change to millions of rural businesses, communities and families across the state.

 

StrikeForce efforts have helped direct over $23.5 billion in investments to create jobs, build homes, feed children, assist farmers, and conserve natural resources in the country's most economically challenged areas. In 2015, StrikeForce expanded to include Oklahoma and Puerto Rico. Now, USDA StrikeForce teams operate in 970 counties in 25 states and Puerto Rico. Each StrikeForce project is a commitment to America's economic future.

 

Since the beginning of the Administration, USDA has made the following significant investments in rural opportunity:

• Invested more than $800 million in more than 29,100 local and regional food businesses and infrastructure projects, helping local food sales top $11.7 billion.
• Helped more than 16,000 underserved, young and beginning farmers obtain credit through the microloan program, which provides low-interest loans up to $50,000.
• Helped 102,882 rural businesses grow through grant and loan support, creating or saving 449,302 jobs.
• Helped more than 1.1 million rural families buy—many for the first time—repair or refinance a home. Provided funding for 3,450 multifamily housing developments.
• Invested in more than 7,540 critical community facilities projects, including 137 public schools, 406 libraries, 928 health care facilities, and 3,198 public safety facilities.
• Investments made by USDA through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide approximately 250,000 rural households, 17,500 businesses, and 1,800 schools, libraries and health care facilities with new or improved high-speed internet. Investments funded through ARRA build on USDA’s ongoing financing of rural broadband service throughout rural America, expanding access to state-of-the-art health care, educational and cultural resources, and gives rural businesses the connectivity they need to compete in the global economy.
• Providing improved water and wastewater services to nearly 18 million rural residents by investing $12.3 billion in 5,174 projects.
• Improved and modernized rural electric infrastructure that serves over 8.6 million rural residents and businesses, including smart grid and air quality improvement technologies.
• Invested more than $435 million in rural and Tribal Promise Zones.
• Launched Rural IMPACT, a new effort of the White House Rural Council that brings together federal agencies along with public and private resources to use a multi-generational approach to breaking the cycle of poverty in rural communities.
• Enrolled record acres in USDA conservation programs through a voluntary, partnership-based, working lands approach, which helps to generate billions in economic return for rural communities through tourism and recreational opportunities.

 

For more information on the State of the Union, visit whitehouse.gov/sotu.

 

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