CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION BOOSTS RURAL AMERICA
150,000 Jobs, 40,000 New Homeowners Legacy of USDA Rural Programs in
1997
WASHINGTON, November 17, 1997 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today issued a "rural report card" to the nation, summarizing the impact of its rural development programs during fiscal year 1997. Jill Long Thompson, under secretary for USDA's Rural Development mission area, cited major gains in the areas of rural homeownership, community facilities construction, business development and the expansion of rural water and utility services as evidence of the Clinton-Gore Administration's commitment to improving the quality of life in rural America.
"More than 150,000 rural jobs were created or preserved and more than 40,000 single family homes were purchased by rural Americans during 1997 thanks to USDA Rural Development programs," Long Thompson said. " We also made major gains in expanding telecommunications and other utility services rural Americans will need to be competitive in the 21st century."
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said the effectiveness of USDA Rural Development programs are being magnified by working in partnership with other public and private entities. "USDA has been able to improve the lives of many more rural residents and the communities in which they live by working in tandem with state and local governments and with private enterprise," Glickman said.
"Most Americans know USDA assists the nation's farmers and looks after the national forests, but many are unaware of the much broader impact USDA programs have on rural America," Long Thompson said. "Whether it is providing rural areas with access to quality health care or education, helping rural Americans buy or repair homes, extending clean water service or supporting businesses and cooperatives that create good jobs, USDA Rural Development programs are helping to pump new life into the nation's rural economy," she continued. Rural America encompasses 80 percent of the nation's land area and is home to about 20 percent of its people.
Long Thompson cited USDA's investment of over $60 million in the nation's three rural Empowerment Zones and 30 rural Enterprise Communities (areas of persistently high poverty designated for special assistance under a Presidential initiative) during 1997 as "an historic step in USDA's effort to eliminate rural poverty." As a result of these efforts, over 7,000 jobs have been created or saved, 1,100 public service facilities have been built or renovated and more than 700,000 rural citizens are now receiving additional services in rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities.
"We are at last seeing that we can break the cycle of poverty in some of the nation's most economically depressed rural areas through public/private partnerships guided by sound economic planning and strong grassroots leadership," Long Thompson said. Through August 1997, rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities have also benefited from $51.6 million in social service block grants.
Long Thompson cited the following as major highlights of 1997 for USDA Rural Development programs nationally:
* Provided financing to help 40,000 rural people buy single family homes, including the construction of 14,000 homes under the Self-Help Housing program, in which low-income people gain "sweat equity" by participating in the construction of their own homes. USDA also financed the building of 7,900 units of multiple family housing. In total, USDA's Rural Housing Service invested more than $2.6 billion either as loans, guaranteed loans or grants in rural housing last year. More than 58,000 jobs were created as a result of housing construction generated by USDA programs.* Helped to build new or improved community facilities -- including day care centers, health care clinics, schools, fire stations, libraries, etc. -- in 568 rural communities by providing more than $226 million in loans, guaranteed loans or grants. These facilities serve a rural population of more than 9 million.
* Provided $540 million in rental assistance to help nearly 40,000 rural, low-income households obtain well-built, safe housing. Half of the rental program beneficiaries were elderly, with average annual income of less than $7,300.
* Financed the start-up or expansion of 1,183 rural businesses or cooperatives, creating or preserving more than 53,000 jobs in the process. About $936 million was extended by USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service as loans, guaranteed loans or grants to rural business and cooperatives. USDA also provided technical services to 100 cooperatives.
* Provided more than $1.3 billion in loans and grants for 1,125 rural water or wastewater projects that serve 8.5 million people and created 30,000 jobs.
* Extended more than $824 million in loans and loan guarantees to help 136 rural electric cooperatives construct electric facilities serving rural areas of 32 states. These projects, funded by USDA's Rural Utilities Service, provided new service to 151,000 rural families and businesses and created 19,000 new jobs. These funds leveraged an additional $2.1 billion in private investments in electric systems.
* Loaned $380 million for 79 rural telecommunications projects that provided improved service to more than 211,000 rural households and businesses, including more than 43,000 new customers. Improvements included installation of new digital switching technology and nearly 50,000 miles of fiber and cooper cable. These and other system enhancements are making advanced telecommunications services available to more rural Americans than ever before. These investments created 8,711 new jobs.
* Provided $8.6 million in grants and $1.6 million in loans for distance learning and telemedicine projects that serve more than 1.5 million rural people. In addition, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman used $6.5 million from the Fund for Rural America to finance an additional distance learning projects and telemedicine projects.
"When USDA was reorganized in 1994, rural development programs that had been scattered among numerous agencies were collected under the umbrella of USDA Rural Development to create a stronger, more flexible and better integrated rural development agency," Long Thompson said. "We are seeing ample evidence that this new agency is the major force behind the renewal of our rural heartland. USDA is now better able to offer help to some of the nation's neediest rural communities."
Long Thompson said another major accomplishment for her agency in 1997 was a massive effort to automate the system USDA uses to originate and serve $18 billion in home loans held by 565,000 rural Americans. "This project will reduce operating costs for USDA's Rural Housing Service by $250 million over a five-year period, and by $100 million per year thereafter," Long Thompson said. By centralizing the loan-servicing system, USDA was able to reduce staff by about 600 positions and to consolidate its network of rural housing offices from over 1,200 to about 800 nationwide.
"Despite these and dozens of other major accomplishments in 1997, the challenge before us remains great," she said, noting that about 2.5 million rural families still live in substandard housing and that rural income still lags well behind that of urban areas. "We will continue to direct USDA rural development efforts to make rural America a better place to live, work and raise families."