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Invest in Rural Communities

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Invest in Rural Infrastructure – From Local Government to Housing to the Post Office

Invest in the infrastructure and institutions that help a community thrive.1

  • In 2025, farmers, small businesses, and rural organizations had their government contracts canceled without warning or cause. Many farmers had already made large investments, and then the federal government failed to uphold its end of the bargain. The federal government needs to meet its contractual obligations and support farmers and rural small businesses with predictable and standard contracts.2
  • Expand rural economic development and job creation by investing in programs that complement local efforts.3
    • The Biden administration made significant investments in rural communities. The 2021 American Rescue Plan directly supported millions of Americans, including working people in rural communities, in the form of payments, tax credits, and small business support. The 2022 RECOMPETE Pilot Program authorized $1 billion in new investments to distressed communities, nine out of ten of which are rural. Tribal governments were included as eligible entities for this funding.
  • Increase access to reliable and fast broadband internet for rural communities, providing better opportunities for education, employment, and entrepreneurship.4
    • 2021-2022 Congress funded $65 billion to ensure that every household in America is connected to high-speed internet. In addition, it funded unprecedented state and local government resources to support connectivity for school children, health care, and other institutions. But the pace of the infrastructure build-out has been slow and relied heavily on private telecommunications businesses, resulting in criticism that the industry is choosing to expand projects with higher population density and leaving most rural communities behind.
  • Many rural communities face a severe housing crisis. People often pay over half their income on housing, have to live in unsafe homes, and risk having their lives upended when a property owner changes the terms of the lease. We can create safe, stable, affordable housing by funding programs for home purchase and home repair for low and moderate-income people. Use investment incentives to boost local capacity to establish and maintain affordable rental units and develop new housing.5
  • Protect and Strengthen the United States Postal Service (USPS). The postal service is an essential part of rural life, delivering everything from prescription drugs to mail-in ballots. But plans to privatize put consistent service at risk. Guarantee rural service and expand USPS services to address local needs such as banking services and fishing licenses.6
    • The 2022 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. Unfortunately, the United States Postal Service is currently prioritizing distribution consolidation following a corporate model that is leading to slower and less reliable service for all Americans, but particularly rural communities, often far from distribution operations.

Notes

  1.  See “Yakutat school fixes failing heat system and saves on energy costs.”
  2.  See the Honor Farmer Contracts Act, which prohibits the USDA from canceling or suspending active contracts with farmers except under narrow and justifiable conditions. This legislation ensures that USDA honors its contractual obligations to producers. It also creates new standards for transparency, accountability, and enforcement to protect farmers.
  3.  The Rebuild Rural America Act establishes a $50 billion grant fund, creates federal training and technical support, establishes a state-by-state rural innovation and partnership administration to coordinate efforts, and creates a “Rural Future Corps” to support essential development.
  4.  The Rural Internet Improvement Act streamlines and bolsters USDA Rural Development broadband programs and ensures their funding is targeted to rural areas that need it the most. The bill merges and codifies the Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program — a program designed to target rural communities with no connectivity — with USDA’s traditional broadband loan and grant program. It limits funding to areas where 90 percent or more of households don’t have consistent broadband access.
  5.  The Rural Housing Service Reform Act improves USDA’s method of determining eligible income requirements. The bill also protects homeowners and ensures some USDA-owned properties stay affordable. Furthermore, the bill updates the rules for a home repair loan program to make it less burdensome to get smaller loans and fund the USDA’s ability to process loans more quickly. The bill also expands an existing USDA pilot program to provide home loan assistance to Native borrowers. Increase low-interest homeownership direct loans authorized under section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949, including funding a Single-Family Housing Relending demonstration program for Native American communities.
  6.  See the Access to No-Fee Accounts Act and language in the 2022 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill directing USPS to meaningfully pilot non-bank financial services at scale. Repeal language in the 2006 Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act that prohibits USPS from offering new services.