Democratic candidate Tom Steyer rolls out rural plan

Tom Steyer

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer, a Democratic candidate for president, rolled out a plan to help rural Americans today. Here are the highlights from his Partnerships with Rural Communities platform:

• Protect the rights of local governments, nonprofits and cooperatives to build their own broadband networks.
• Fund $135 billion in Rural Utilities Service grants and loans, along with private loans, to encourage broadband buildout; some money would be set aside for disadvantaged communities, tribal lands and communities where minorities constitute the majority.
• Increase investment in rural hospitals, including telemedicine.
• Forgive student loans for some rural health care providers.
• Fight the opioid epidemic with $75 billion over 10 years for treatment programs and more.
• Hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic.
• Help rural seniors age in place with in-home assistance.
• Require insurers to cover mental health, dental and vision.
• Expand mobile clinics to more rural areas.
• Increase funding and attention to rural maternity and childbirth facilities and providers.
• Expand the Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service.
• Reverse Trump administration actions that have reduced access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.
• Increase rural volunteerism through Americorps and Climate Corps funding.
• Increase funding to make rural drinking water cleaner.
• Support free trade policies that will help American farmers.
• Enforce antitrust laws in agriculture to protect family farmers.
• Go after predatory lenders in rural areas and increase financial literacy education.
• Allocate $50 billion to encourage young and family farmers to implement more climate-friendly practices.
• Shut down hardship waivers for oil refiners under the Renewable Fuel Standard program.
• Invest in various rural renewable energy programs.
• Increase funding for wildfire reduction in forests.
• Divert more funds to upgrading and maintaining public lands.

The Rural Blog reports major statements by presidential candidates about rural policy.