lincoln

When you woke up this morning, chances are you turned on a light, took a shower in your bathroom, brushed your teeth with running water and checked the Internet. For too many people in Indian Country, this simple daily process is currently unattainable. Services most Americans take for granted are not always available in Indian Country.

Last week, I joined other USDA officials in attending the National Congress of American Indians Convention in Lincoln, Nebraska. I discussed all of the remarkable progress that USDA and Secretary Vilsack have made when it comes to supporting Native Americans, especially those who live on reservations or trust areas.

The flooding from this year’s spring rain storms caused millions of dollars worth of damage to homes, businesses and crops in Arkansas.

But some flooding was reduced or minimized, thanks to 207 small and medium-sized dams built by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in partnership with local watershed districts.

Local construction contractors attended a June 22^nd ‘work day’ event in the Crescent Shores Subdivision in Lincoln, Delaware to tell the audience of volunteers, homeowners and federal and state officials of how the USDA Rural Development Self-Help Housing Program has kept their businesses alive.

The Self-Help Housing Program was established as a path to homeownership for very-low to low-income families, utilizing a sweat equity model.  It is the only federally –funded homeownership program specifically for rural America.

Abraham Lincoln was known for being self-reliant, so it is fitting that, with support from USDA, prospective homeowners in Lincoln, Delaware are building their own homes.  USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager, Housing Administrator Tammye Trevino, RD Delaware State Director Jack Tarburton and staff from USDA’s national and local offices joined together yesterday to swing hammers, pound nails and assist in the effort. It’s all part of National Homeownership Month.

U.S. Senator Benjamin Nelson and Nebraska USDA Rural Development State Director Maxine Moul took part in a reception held at the USDA Rural Development State Office in Lincoln, Neb. recently.  At the reception, the Senator heard how Rural Development programs have helped rural Nebraskans.