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Investing in Rural America

Posted by Matt Paul, Director of Communications, USDA in USDA Results Rural
Aug 18, 2011
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (center white shirt) listens to President Barack Obama speaking at the Northeast Iowa Community College for a White House Rural Economic Forum on August 16, 2011. Agriculture Secretary and chair of the White House Rural Council, Tom Vilsack, notes that the President’s visit will focus on agriculture’s contribution to the national economy, and how to create more jobs in rural America. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (center white shirt) listens to President Barack Obama speaking at the Northeast Iowa Community College for a White House Rural Economic Forum on August 16, 2011. Agriculture Secretary and chair of the White House Rural Council, Tom Vilsack, notes that the President’s visit will focus on agriculture’s contribution to the national economy, and how to create more jobs in rural America. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Earlier this week, President Obama along with Secretary Vilsack and members of the White House Rural Council hosted the White House Rural Economic Forum in Peosta, Iowa where the President announced new jobs initiatives focused on increasing access to capital, job training and health care services. The forum, part of President Obama’s three-day economic bus tour, brought together farmers, small business owners, private sector leaders, rural stakeholders and government officials to discuss ways to improve economic growth and create jobs in rural communities nationwide. The White House Rural Council, of which Secretary Vilsack is the chair, was created on June 9, 2011 by an executive order and is focused on finding ways to increase economic growth and infrastructure in rural communities.

President Obama’s Rural Economic Forum comes on the heels of a new report, Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America, released Friday, that highlights the Administration’s key accomplishments in rural communities for five critical areas: creating jobs and economic growth, improving access to quality health care and education, fostering innovation, expanding outdoor opportunities, and supporting veterans and military families.

For more on the announcements watch the video below.

 

Category/Topic: USDA Results Rural