Key Policy Progress

Massive New Tools and Opportunities for Rural Americans

The first Rural Policy Action Summit convened virtually in February 2021. With communities reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and still evaluating the 2020 election, a group of rural advocates gathered to outline an agenda for the incoming administration and Congress. The summit culminated in the 2021 Rural Policy Action Report, which provided a roadmap to ensure all working families, no matter where they live or the color of their skin, have the opportunity and tools to build a good life and strengthen their communities. That report has been shared widely with elected leaders and influencers. And, through Executive and Congressional action, our leaders have responded to enact key recommendations from the report and make the most significant investments in rural America in our lifetimes.

Building from that federally-focused 2021 report, two organizations — State Innovation Exchange and Rural Democracy Initiative — worked with rural advocates and organizations to develop the Blueprint for Rural Policy Action in the States. That report provides detailed research and examples of strategic and popular policies that can be introduced and enacted at the state level.

There’s more to do, but our country is making progress on critical priorities for working families everywhere, including rural communities: rebuilding our economy as we emerged from the pandemic, lowering costs, securing and rebuilding supply chains, promoting competition and more equitable opportunity, building healthier and more sustainable communities, and investing in the foundational infrastructure that all communities — especially rural communities — need to live, work, and thrive.

#1. Key Executive Actions

• President Biden directed his administration to prioritize rural communities in funding decisions, issuing a Rural Playbook and piloting rural-focused programs at rural.gov. 
• The President’s order on Competition in the American Economy directs agencies across the federal government to rein in giant corporations that have unfairly monopolized markets, hurting small businesses and driving up costs for America’s families. The order encourages the Federal Trade Commission to issue rules for the right to repair, a key provision for rural communities.
• The Federal Trade Commission has also adopted transparency rules governing “Made in the USA” labeling and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed new rules for the “Product of USA” label claim, requiring all meat and meat products to be 100% “born, raised, and slaughtered” in the U.S. to qualify for that label. That creates transparency for consumers and levels the playing field for farmers and ranchers.

#2. American Rescue Plan Act

• The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funded $4 billion to bring food prices down and help family farmers and small businesses feed their neighbors. These resources are helping local businesses compete in the meat processing sector against the giant multinational corporations that dominate the industry and help local schools purchase local food to make the American food system more resilient, as outlined in USDA’s Framework.
• The critical law also directly supported millions of Americans, including working people in rural communities, in the form of payments, tax credits, and small business support.
• The ARPA also stabilized rural institutions. The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds distributed $350 billion to every state and local government across the country, providing much-needed capacity for rural governments. Additionally, $122 billion was delivered directly to public schools to ensure they could reopen safely.

#3. Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

• The Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act includes $65 billion to ensure that every household in America is connected to high-speed internet. These funds are added to unprecedented state and local government resources from the ARPA to support connectivity for school children, healthcare, and other institutions.
• The Infrastructure Bill appropriated over $11 billion to accelerate the clean-up of historically abandoned mines that are polluting communities and holding them back.
• Through both the ARPA and Infrastructure Bill, the Administration is investing over $31 billion to ensure Tribal communities have the tools to be self-reliant and thrive, including land and water protections as well as high-speed internet.

#4. Postal Service Reform Act

The Postal Service Reform Act made a down payment on ensuring the USPS remains an essential point of connection for families across the country, no matter where they live. The bill removed an onerous pension pre-funding mandate and other congress-created barriers to economic sustainability from a 2006 law. The Act also requires publicly accessible delivery performance data. It empowers local communities and states to collaborate with the USPS to secure access to even more essential services, everything from fishing licenses to WiFi in the parking lot.

#5. The CHIPS and Science ACT

• The RECOMPETE Pilot Program, passed in the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, authorizes $1 billion in new investments to distressed communities, nine out of ten of which are rural. Tribal governments are targeted as eligible entities for this funding. Congress has appropriated the pilot phase of this program with $200 million dollars for fiscal year 2023.
• The CHIPS and Science Act is also building on the ARPA and the Infrastructure Bill to expand work-based learning and apprenticeship that will help prepare more rural students for today’s in-demand jobs.
  

#6. Inflation Reduction Act

• The Inflation Reduction Act empowers Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, caps out of pocket costs for Medicare enrollees for the first time ever, penalizes drug corporations for raising their prices faster than inflation and saves people with Affordable Care Act coverage an average of $800 annually on premiums
• The Act also strengthens rural electric cooperatives by making the largest direct investments in rural electrification in history, accelerating clean energy transition — saving rural people money, creating rural jobs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• The historic legislation also invests nearly $20 billion in voluntary conservation programs to reduce emissions and mitigate the harms of climate change. In a rare victory, these funds did not include the typical 50% requirement for livestock operations — an important step in reducing taxpayers’ funding of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.
• The act requires large corporations that make over $1 billion annually to pay a corporate minimum tax and finally requires wealthy households making over $400,000 annually to pay what they owe in taxes after years of tax-dodging.

Policy Highlights

The following items highlight progress from the key policy priorities of the 2021 Rural Policy Action Report.

Champion Farmer Equity & Justice for Black Farmers

• In the historic American Rescue Plan Act, congress recognized the long history of discrimination in USDA lending. Nearly $5 billion was appropriated to forgive loans for BIPOC farmers, launch an equity commission and ramp up outreach to historically underserved communities. When this policy was blocked by conservative activist organizations and judges Congressional champions went back to work and amended the law to ensure distressed borrowers didn’t lose their farms and farmers who have faced discrimination get relief.
• The USDA formed an Equity Commission to address past and present discrimination.

Invest in Rural Community Livability

• The RECOMPETE Pilot Program, passed in the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, authorizes $1 Billion in new investments to distressed communities, nine out of ten of which are rural. Tribal governments are targeted as eligible entities for this funding. A second win in 2022: the pilot program appropriated with $200 Million for fiscal year 2023.

Ensure Health Care Access for All

• The Inflation Reduction Act empowers Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and save taxpayers money.

Building Out Broadband Reliability and Access

• President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill includes $65 Billion to ensure that every household in America is connected to high-speed internet. These funds are added to unprecedented state and local government resources from the American Rescue Plan to support connectivity for school children, healthcare, and other institutions.

Invest in a Clean Energy Transition for Rural Communities

• The Infrastructure Bill appropriated over $11 Billion to accelerate the clean-up of historically abandoned mines.
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act strengthens rural electric cooperatives (RECs) by making the largest direct investments in rural electrification in history to accelerate the clean energy transition that will save rural people money, create rural jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Expand Support for Regional Food Economies

• The American Rescue Plan funded $4 billion to bring food prices down, and help family farmers and small businesses feed their neighbors. This investment empowers local businesses to compete in the meat processing sector against the giant multinational corporations that dominate the industry and helps local schools purchase local food to make the American food system more resilient. The Biden Administration has utilized those resources to promote competition in the meat processing sector, expand grants to fund local food system development, supplement school and institution purchasing of local food, and much more outlined in USDA’s Framework. 

Protect and Strengthen the United States Postal Service (USPS)

• The Postal Service Reform Act guaranteed the United States Postal Service can remain an essential point of connection for families across the country, no matter where they live. It funds the USPS and removes artificial barriers to economic sustainability. The Act also supports reliable delivery across the country. It also empowers local communities to collaborate with the USPS to secure access to even more essential services, including banking and fishing licenses.

Strengthen Economic Competition

• The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have opened a wide range of investigations and started the process of reforming the rules around corporate mergers and acquisitions.
• The Department of Justice supported poultry farmers to get better pay by effectively ending a deeply anti-competitive payment scheme known as the “tournament” system.
• Congress removed barriers to antitrust enforcement. The State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act supports state officials to better advocate for fair competition.
• Congress increased funding for antitrust enforcement by passing the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act which increases the fees companies pay when they propose mergers. This gives antitrust enforcers the resources they need to ensure that corporations don’t hurt working people and small businesses and play by the rules.
• The President’s order on Competition in the American Economy directs agencies across the Federal government to rein in giant corporations that have unfairly monopolized markets, hurting small businesses and driving up costs for America’s families. The order established the right to repair, a key provision for rural communities.
• US Department of Agriculture (USDA) empowered State Attorneys General to better enforce competition violations. This initiative reverses decades-long failures to enforce current law and reduces overall enforcement cost.
• The FTC adopted transparency rules governing “Made in the USA” labeling and USDA proposed new rules for the “Product of USA” label claim. These moves by the administration, which require all meat and meat products to be 100% “born, raised, and slaughtered” in the US to qualify for that label creates transparency for consumers and levels the playing field for farmers and ranchers.

Stop Taxpayer Funding of Industrial Animal Agriculture

The Inflation Reduction Act invested nearly $20 Billion in voluntary conservation programs to reduce emissions and mitigate the efforts of climate change. In a rare victory, these funds did not include the typical 50% requirement for livestock operations — an important step in reducing taxpayers’ funding of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.