"USDA's Rural Development: Delivering Vital Programs and Services to Rural America"
House Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development
2025-09-18
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Source: Congress.gov
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Ladies and gentlemen, the committee will come to order. Welcome and thank you for joining today's hearing entitled USDA's Rural Development, Delivering Vital Programs and Services to Rural America. After brief opening remarks, members will receive testimony from our witnesses today, a really excellent panel, and then the hearing will be open to questions. In consultation with the ranking member, Mr. Davis, and pursuant to Rule 11E, I want to make members of the subcommittee aware that members of the full committee will be joining us today. Today we're going to hear from great rural leaders and former USDA rural development officials about why the programs and services that rural development provide to rural America are so incredibly important. This builds on a series of rural development hearings that this subcommittee has had in recent years. Last Congress, we examined programs that support broadband, energy, water systems, rural businesses and industry, rural cooperatives, and biomanufacturing. USDA Rural Development is uniquely positioned to serve our rural communities. Today we'll learn about the various programs that provide needed investment in our rural communities, essential infrastructure, small businesses, and economic development. So let's just highlight a few so we're all on the same page. We've got the community facilities loan and grant programs. Those are crucial tools to provide essential community infrastructure in rural America. Projects include fire and rescue stations, village and town halls, health care clinics, hospitals, adult and child care centers, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation centers, public buildings, schools, libraries, and many other community-based initiatives. Just it's hard to imagine what our rural communities would look like without them. The Value-Added Producer Grant Program is really an unsung hero of VRD programs. Farmers and ranchers are eligible for this program that helps them enter value-added activities to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and essentially increase income.
The Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Programs provide funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. USDA RD provides zero interest loans to local utilities, which they in turn pass through to local businesses for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The Rural Business Investment Program promotes economic development and creates jobs and wealth opportunities by supporting the equity capital investment needs in rural America. The Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program provides loans and grants to microenterprise development organizations, MDOs, to help microenterprises start up and grow through a rural microloan revolving fund and provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and microentrepreneurs. That is lots of acronyms, but also a lot of good for real America. Most of these programs were reauthorized in the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, and so they have an expiration date. As we move forward with reauthorizing expiring USDA RD programs, the feedback and the conversations that we're having here today will help us improve these vital programs so that we can even better serve rural america and and the rural communities that all of us here represent i want to thank each of our witnesses for your service to rural america and for the perspectives you bring today i've got a couple of personal friends on the panel and i'm so i'm excited about that as well we'll talk about that in a minute i do want to recognize the distinguished ranking member for some of the, for any remarks he would like to make. Just as a note, we have, he and I have generally run this subcommittee in a bipartisan manner, both of us kind of managing, serving as chairman of the subcommittee. And so I don't want anybody to get nervous assuming the minority party has seized control of the dais. If Mr. Davis recognizes you, that is just as valid as a recognition from Mr. Johnson. So with that, my friend, Mr. Davis.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. It's truly an honor to be on this journey with you. And I must admit, as a mayor, growing up in Snow Hill, North Carolina, and eventually making my way to Congress, one of the things I had on mind, in my mind, was rural development. And we realize the importance of rural development. Rural development is the heartbeat, it's the heartbeat of many communities across this nation, and especially in a district like the First Congressional District. 22 counties, 100% of the counties are rural. So we're here for a really important reason today. And I think about the investments that are made, and as these investments are made in rural America, it makes a huge difference. This past Saturday, this past Saturday, I showed up at Nashville Fire Department. For the ribbon-cutting of Fire Station No. 2, it could not have happened without rural development. The Community Facilities Program granted help for this fire station. The Community Facilities Program provides affordable funding to build and construct essential rural community facilities such as firehouses, police stations, and community centers. Another successful program, and that's really important to me, is the ReConnect Loan and Grant Program. Oh God, I can't tell you when I think about living in eastern North Carolina and broadband and the need to make important connections. So, these are just some of the programs. I could continue on, you know, in terms of the Rural Business Development Grants.
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