Joe Biden’s Plan to Build Back Better in Rural America

Before President Biden came into office, he planned to build a new economy both for our rural American families and the next generation of rural Americans. This included:

Creat[ing] millions of new jobs, including new opportunities in rural America; Advanc[ing] racial economic equity in rural America; Protect[ing] and build[ing] on the Affordable Care Act to expand access to health care in rural communities; [and] Expand[ing] broadband, or wireless broadband via 5G, to every American.

Now, one week into his presidency, Liz Compton notes in her Politico article that President Biden is facing growing pressure to appoint a rural envoy within the White House to oversee a national strategy to uplift rural communities that have been experiencing food insecurity and high unemployment, and are in need of affordable, reliable housing. 

To help better understand the challenges facing many rural communities, and the efforts made to support them, check out this podcast by NPR. 

Democratic lawmakers, in particular, are urging President Biden that embarking on a rural strategy is an immediate course of action he needs to pursue.

Former Democratic Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear noted:

I certainly think there has to be a big emphasis on developing rural America. It is past time that the rural areas of this country be targeted for not only economic development, but for health care, for broadband access, for all of the things that will lift this whole country up. 

Similarly, Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat said: 

After years of attempting to make these investments, what I know is this: the organization of government often makes it difficult to facilitate real on-the-ground success. A concept like a Rural Envoy at the White House who has real power to coordinate between agencies and make sure that each agency’s work supports another agency’s work in rural America would be an improvement.

While the proposed envoy would work closely with the executive branch, the Agriculture Department is expected to be the first response to many of these problems. The department has a sprawling mission statement that touches nearly every aspect of rural America, from funding affordable housing to building rural hospitals to deploying broadband access to combating climate change. 

Therefore, President Biden’s agriculture secretary nominee, Tom Vilsack, will likely be a key figure in his plan to build back a better rural America. Mr. Vilsack previously served as Agriculture Secretary for all eight years of the Obama administration before heading up the U.S. Dairy Export Council. In addition to having broad support from big agriculture, Mr. Vilsack’s allies say his record proves he’s ready to confront the numerous problems rural Americans face. 

Check out Mr. Vilsack’s interview with the Storm Lake Times, where he discussed rural economic development as a priority area. 

It is also worth noting that President Biden has selected Katharine Ferguson to serve as Vilsack's chief of staff. Ms. Ferguson served in the Obama Administration as Chief of Staff for the White House Domestic Policy Council and as Chief of Staff for Rural Development at the USDA, thereby demonstrating that rural development issues could get special attention in the overall agriculture discussion.

Although Mr. Vilsack is yet to be confirmed, President Biden’s plan to build back better in rural America is already underway with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and House Representative Antonio Delgado’s joint announcement of their newly introduced bill in Congress that would help to bring more federal funding and resources to rural communities across the country. The Rebuild Rural America Act is set to accomplish many goals, including setting aside $50 billion dollars in block grants for rural regions and establishing a Rural Future Corps in coordination with AmeriCorps to support childcare, health, and other services, among others. 

In her announcement, Senator Gillibrand noted: 

Too often rural communities can’t access the federal grants and other public resources that could help them solve these problems because they don't have the same economic development organizations. They don't have the grant writers and lobbyists that the larger communities can afford and have.

For more information on Senator Gillibrand, check out a few older posts here, here, here, and here.

By the looks of it, it would appear the President Biden's plan to build back better in rural America is blowing full steam ahead, arguably providing at the very least, some relief to rural communities that something is being done. 

Check out this earlier post focusing on President Biden’s efforts to help rural America.