Stimulus Bill Contains Items Of Interest For Rural Texas

Broadband access may be coming to a farm near you, according to the Texas Farm Bureau

AUSTIN, TX, Feb. 20, 2009 -- The nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Barack Obama may be meeting mixed reviews around the country, but there are several items within the bill that could bring direct benefit to the farmers and ranchers, Farm Bureau analysts say.

The following are a few of the bill’s provisions that bear significance rural Texas:

Broadband

$7.2 billion for grants to deploy broadband in underserved and unserved areas, of which $4.7 billion would be for a new grant program run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and $2.5 billion for the existing deployment program run by the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service. Internet service providers would be required to provide open access to broadband networks (net neutrality) built using the federal funds.


USDA provisions

• $150 million of budget authority to support $3.1 billion in rural business loans and grants for rural businesses.

• $1.4 billion of budget authority to support $3.8 billion in loans and grants for water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas.

• $130 million of budget authority for rural communities facilities to support $1.2 billion in loans and grants for hospitals, health clinics, health and safety vehicles/equipment, public buildings and child and elder care facilities.

• $50 million to upgrade Farm Service Agency (FSA) information technology systems.

• $24 million for USDA buildings and facilities to address priority maintenance, repair and modernization.

• $176 million for Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to upgrade laboratory and research facilities.

• Increased revenue guarantees for the supplemental disaster program for 2008.

• $17.3 million for direct farm operating loans.

• $50 million in assistance to catfish farmers for increased feed costs.

Transportation provisions

• $27.5 billion from the general fund for highway projects.

• $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers for construction and operation and maintenance of the nation's flood control and navigation infrastructure and environmental restoration projects.

• $375 million for Mississippi River and tributaries projects, programs, or activities.

Health care provisions

• $19 billion for health information technology infrastructure and Medicare and Medicaid incentives to encourage doctors, hospitals, and other providers to use health IT to electronically exchange patients' health information.

• $500 million for community health centers to provide care to uninsured and underserved rural and urban populations and $1.5 billion for community health center modernization.

• $500 million for training programs for primary care providers, including pediatricians, dentists, nurses, and professionals working in family medicine and internal medicine.

Miscellaneous

-The “Buy America” provision in the bill says the requirement to use U.S. steel, iron and manufactured products for stimulus funded projects must be consistent with international trade agreements.

- Farm Bureau opposed language to expand regulations banning the processing of nonambulatory livestock was not included in the bill.

- Farm Bureau opposed language that would have required entities receiving stimulus funding to use the E-Verify program was not included in the bill.

Source: Texas Farm Bureau Release