Contact: Claiborn Crain (202) 720-1255
ccrain@rus.usda.gov
63rd ANNIVERSARY OF THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ACT CELEBRATED WITH UPDATED WEBSITE
WASHINGTON, May 21, 1999 -- USDA Rural Development is marking the 63rd anniversary of the Rural Electrification Act by unveiling a new, more user-friendly website designed to help both borrowers and the general public gain detailed information about USDA electric programs.
The website -- http://www.usda.gov/rus/electric -- focuses on both the past and future of USDA's electric program, which has helped build about 50 percent of the nation's power lines. Information on USDA electric loans, utility engineering issues, proposed regulations and even application forms are just a click away for anyone who visits the website.
"By using today's technology to communicate with our borrowers and the public, USDA is helping to open the door to the same type of revolutionary changes in rural utility service as it did 63 years ago when the Rural Electrification Act was signed," said Wally Beyer, administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Service. "With the advances in telecommunications technology, the world is witnessing the birth of a ‘new utility' -- one which provides access to new portals of information and a new way of doing business."
Since 1936, USDA, through the Rural Electrification Administration and its successor agency, the Rural Utilities Service, has been instrumental in providing rural America with the infrastructure necessary for economic development.
In 1949, 39 percent of American farmers had telephone service. Today, rural communities have some of the highest "telephone penetration" rates in America. USDA/RUS borrowers alone serve over 15 million Americans.
"USDA will continue to help meet the infrastructure needs of rural America and provide it with the resources it needs to take advantage of the breathtaking technological advances creating a new Information Age," said Jill Long Thompson, under secretary for USDA Rural Development. "To ensure we meet the challenges of the future, we must also remember how we met the challenges of the past, and thus our website is also designed ensure that people understand the compelling history of rural electrification and what is has meant to our nation."
The Rural Utilities Service administers the Rural Electrification Act, which authorized the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and helped bring modern and safe electric power and telecommunications services to rural communities. With the reorganization of USDA in the mid-1990s, REA became RUS. In addition to its electric and telecommunications programs, RUS also absorbed USDA's Water and Waste Disposal program, which has helped build modern water systems for more than 20,000 rural communities across America.
The Rural Utilities Service, Rural Housing Service, Rural Business-Cooperative Service and Office of Community Development are the four agencies that comprise USDA Rural Development, the mission area which meets the challenge of improving the quality of life in rural America.
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