USDA releases report detailing impact of stimulus package on rural America

Less than two weeks before the election, a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates millions of rural Americans will benefit and over 300,000 jobs are being created or saved by the stimulus package. "With Rural Development's loans, grants, and loan-grant combination financing for new and existing programs, we have leveraged our Recovery Act funds to ensure the greatest bang for the taxpayer's buck, allowing our agency to make unprecedented and lasting investments in rural America," USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager said in a news release. "I am proud of what we have accomplished over the last two years towards building livable, innovative, and sustainable rural communities."

Of the $40.7 billion of stimulus funding allocated to USDA, Rural Development used $21.2 billion in funding seven programs. "In all, 95,000 loans and 2,500 grants were provided to recipients in all 50 states, American territories, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico," USDA writes in the release. Rural stimulus package funding helped expand rural broadband, improve water and wastewater projects in rural communities and provide small business loans. (Read more)