Three ways the new administration could help rural America meet its challenges

Helping younger farmers helps local land stay
locally owned. (Abobe Stock photo)

Seeking a voice and change small-town America needs, many rural voters rallied for President Donald Trump to return to the White House. Now that he's back in the Oval Office, there are three ways his administration could work with Congress to help rural America face its challenges, write Randolph Hubach and Cody Mullen for The Conversation.

Health care is a good place to start.
Rural Americans are more likely to receive Medicaid or Medicare health care coverage and more vulnerable to negative impacts from policy or funding changes. "Funding from those federal programs affects rural hospitals, and rural hospitals are struggling," Hubach and Mullen explain. "Nearly half of rural hospitals operate in the red today, and over 170 rural hospitals have closed since 2010."

They recommend government funding continue for the Low-volume Hospital Adjustment Act and the rural emergency hospital model because both programs address rural health care providers' financial needs. Additional support and expansion of rural telehealth services is also needed.

Help small towns address affordable housing.
Like much of the country, rural communities lack affordable housing. To help small towns create housing solutions, the new administration should support the "bipartisan Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which calls for creating a new federal tax credit to spur the development and renovation of family housing in distressed urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods," Hubach and Mullen add. "The Section 502 Direct Loan Program through the Department of Agriculture could be expanded with additional funding to enable more people to receive subsidized mortgages."

Keep local lands locally owned.
Rural businesses and landowners tend to care about the communities they call home. Congress could support rural land ownership through the "proposed Farm Transitions Act [that] would establish a commission on farm transitions to study issues that affect locally owned farms and provide recommendations to help transition agricultural operations to the next generation of farmers and ranchers," Hubach and Mullen add.

The Trump administration also could continue assistance for young farmers. "About 30% of farmers have been in business for less than 10 years, and many of them rent the land they farm," they write. "Programs such as USDA’s farm loan programs and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program help support local land purchases and could be improved to identify and eliminate barriers that communities face."