Tuesday Congressman Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing to review the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development programs in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.
The Subcommittee heard testimony from Dallas P. Tonsager, Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA and from rural economic development stakeholders utilizing rural development programs across America.
"Today's hearing provided a good overview of the strengths and the weaknesses of our rural development programs given their current resources. I appreciate hearing from Under Secretary Tonsager and the USDA Rural Development administrators about their progress on Farm Bill implementation, the administration of Recovery Act funds, and issues we might consider for the next Farm Bill," Chairman McIntyre said. "Our second panel of witnesses provided good testimony and helpful suggestions, particularly on the complexity of the loan and grant application process, that I hope USDA will keep in mind as we move forward with the 2012 Farm Bill."
"Today's hearing was intended to review rural development programs in advance of the next Farm Bill. I believe it is appropriate to be discussing our rural development programs to find out what is working. I think it is even more important to hold a hearing when programs are not working as Congress intended," said Ranking Member K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas. "Unfortunately there are several significant issues with the way our programs are being implemented, and today presented an opportunity to shed light. This Subcommittee has previously highlighted the need for interagency cooperation. There are 16 federal agencies administering over 88 programs that target rural development, and it is important to stay on top of what the USDA is doing to effectively coordinate rural development efforts and use taxpayer funds more efficiently. I appreciate the time our witnesses took to share their insights with us today."
The 2008 Farm Bill provides $120 million for critical water and wastewater projects in rural areas as well as $15 million for the Value-Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grant program, which offers planning and working capital for marketing value-added products. The 2008 Farm Bill also includes $15 million for the new Rural Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance Program that provides technical and financial assistance to micro-enterprises and small businesses in rural areas.
The opening statements of all witnesses are available on the House Agriculture Committee website at
http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.
