The American Jobs Plan Supports Rural America
Today, despite the fact that rural and Tribal communities across the country are asset-rich, more than 8 in 10 persistent poverty counties fall outside of a metropolitan area. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan directly invests in rural and Tribal communities, including by providing 100% broadband coverage, rebuilding crumbling infrastructure like roads and water systems, and positioning the U.S. agricultural sector to lead the shift to net-zero emissions while providing new economic opportunities for farmers.
President Biden is proposing to transform the way the federal government partners with rural and Tribal communities to create jobs and spur inclusive economic growth. Rural communities often don’t have the same budget as big cities to hire staff needed to navigate and access federal programs. On top of that, they have to navigate a myriad of programs all with different purposes and requirements.
As part of his plan to ensure that all communities recover – regardless of geography – President Biden is proposing $5 billion for a new Rural Partnership Program to help rural regions, including Tribal Nations, build on their unique assets and realize their vision for inclusive community and economic development. This program will empower rural regions by supporting locally-led planning and capacity building efforts, and providing flexible funding to meet critical needs. Specifically, President Biden’s American Jobs Plan will:
REVITALIZE RURAL COMMUNITIES & ECONOMIES
- Invest in community-led revitalization. A $10 billion Community Revitalization Fund will support innovative, community-led redevelopment projects in rural and urban areas that spark new economic activity, provide services and amenities, build community wealth, and close the current gaps in access to the innovation economy for communities of color and rural residents.
- Grow regional innovation hubs with rural connections. The President’s plan funds 10 new regional innovation hubs across the country that will leverage private investment to fuel technology development and new regional business opportunities and foster urban-rural connections
- Remediate and redevelop idle rural property. In rural communities around the country, former industrial and energy sites are now idled -- sources of blight and pollution. Through a historic investment in the remediation and redevelopment of these Brownfield and Superfund sites in rural and urban communities, as well as related economic and workforce development, President Biden’s plan will turn this idle real property into new hubs of economic growth and job creation.
- Spur the buildout of critical physical, social, and civic infrastructure in distressed and disadvantaged communities. President Biden’s plan will bring distressed and disadvantaged communities in rural America new critical physical, social, and civic infrastructure. This means investing $14 billion in the Economic Development Agency’s Public Works program (while lifting the cap of $3 million on projects) and in USDA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development “Main Street” grant initiatives. President Biden’s plan will also spur targeted sustainable, economic development efforts through the Appalachian Regional Commission's Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative and Department of Energy retooling grants for idled factories (through the Section 132 program).
- Encourage manufacturing in rural areas. The President’s plan provides USDA with $15 billion for subsidized credit programs focused on manufacturing, including the Rural Development Section 9003
