Title VI – Rural Development
2002 Farm Bill Education Conference
Kansas City, Missouri
May 20-21, 2002
Tom Johnson
University of Missouri
Subtitle A – Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act
• Loans to Rural Enterprise Communities and
Rural Empowerment Zones Communities
• Water and Waste Disposal Grants
• Doubled Rural Business Opportunity Grants to
$15 M per year (authorized only)
• Rural Water and Waste Water Circuit Rider
Program at $15 M per year (authorized only)
• Regional Planning Organizations - $32 M per
year (authorized only)
• Tribal Colleges Community Facilities - $10 M
per year (authorized only)
• Emergency Community Water Grants - $35 M
per year (authorized only)
• Facility grants for Native Americans and
Alaskans- $60 M per year (authorized only)
• Broadcasting Systems - $10 M per year
(authorized only)
• Business & Industry Loans – principal of up to
$25 M (authorized only)
National Rural Development
Partnership
• National Rural Development Coordinating
Committee (in USDA)
– To support State Rural Development
Councils
– Coordinate and review policies
• State Rural Development Councils
– $10 M per year (authorized only)
– 33% state match of federal funds
Rural Telework
• Grants to non-profits, educational institutions
and Indian tribes to create Telework Centers
– $30 M per year (authorized only)
– $1 to $2 M grants
• Creates a National Rural Telework Institute
– To support and encourage the
development of Telework centers
Other Provisions
• Historic barn preservation
• NOAA weather radio transmitter grants
• Training of farm workers in new technologies
- $10 M per year (authorized only)
Regional Authorities
• Extended the Delta Regional Authority
– Added an agricultural development component $7 M per year (authorized only)
• Created Northern Great Plains Regional Authority
– 50 % funding from Federal Government
– May make grants for infrastructure, job training,
business development, and local development
districts
– $30 M per year (authorized only)
Rural Business Investment
Program
• To create and provide grants to Rural
Business Investment Companies
– Grants of 10% of private capital up to $1 M
– $280 M in loan guarantees
– $44 M one time authorization for grants
– Cost is $100 M (mandatory)
Rural Strategic Investment
Program
• National Board on Rural America
– $100 M one time (mandatory)
» $8 M for planning grants to Regional Boards
» $87 M for innovation grants to Regional Boards
• National Conference on Rural America
– Telecommunications, health,
transportation, human capital,
diversification, financing
– $2 M one time (mandatory)
Rural Strategic Investment
Program
• Regional Investment Boards
– Regional plans
» Infrastructure, human capital, services,
financing
– Innovation grants
» To carry out regional plans
» Less than $3 M in up to 30 regions
Funding of Pending Rural
Development Loans and
Guarantees
• To be used to fund pending
– water and waste water grants
– Emergency community water grants
• $360 M (mandatory)
Subtitle B - Rural Broadband
Access
• Loan and loan guarantees for rural broadband
service
– State and local governments are eligible
– $20 M per year for 4 years, $10 M for each
of last 2 years (mandatory)
Subtitle C - Rural Electronic
Commerce Extension Program
• 4 Regional Rural Development Centers and
land grant and other universities with rural
development programs are eligible
• $60 M per year (authorized only)
– 1/3 to Rural Development Centers
• 50 % non-federal match
Subtitle D - SEARCH Grants for
Small Communities
• To support environmental projects in small
communities
• $51 M per year authorized (authorized only)
– $1 M per state per year
Subtitle E - Miscellaneous
• Local Television Loan Guarantees
– $80 M one time allocation from the
Commodity Credit Corporation (mandatory)
• Rural Firefighters and Emergency Personnel
Grant Fund
– Scholarships and support of training
centers for emergency personnel
– $10 M per year allocation from the
Commodity Credit Corporation (mandatory)
Value Added Agricultural Product
Market Development Grants
• Defines value added agriculture
• Grants to producers and producer groups up
to $500,000
• $40 M per year
• Total cost $240 M (mandatory)
Agriculture Innovation Center
Demonstration Program
• Grants up to $1 M to assist entities develop
value added innovation centers
– 1/3 match required
• 5 grants in first year, 10 additional grants in
second year
• Applied research and grants to producers
• $300,000 for research on effects of value
added on the agricultural sector
• $3 M in 2002, $6 M in each of 2003 and 2004
(authorized only)
Intergovernmental Rural Policy
Working Group
• A sense of congress proposal that the
President should
– Appoint a special assistant for rural policy
– Designate senior officers in each agency to
provide rural policy leadership
– Create a rural policy working group
comprised of the special assistant to the
President and agency designees
Summary of Mandatory Programs
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Water and Waste Backlog
Value Added Agriculture
Broad Band
Rural Strategic Investment Program
Rural Business Investment Program
Television Loan Guarantees
Firefighters and Emergency Personnel
Total
$360 M
$240 M
$100 M
$100 M
$100 M
$80 M
$50 M
$1,030 M