Today, Congressman Mike McIntyre, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing to examine how the U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with partners to expand entrepreneurship and business development in rural America.
The Subcommittee heard testimony from the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business and Cooperative Programs and from Community Development Corporations and other organizations focused on rural development.
“Using federal government programs to incentivize the tremendous business innovation and creation power present in our rural communities is a win-win-win situation," Subcommittee Chairman McIntyre said. “Communities win through the creation of local jobs, lower unemployment, and higher levels of economic growth."
“Unemployment is nearing double-digits nationally, and in some states has been a reality for many months. It is disappointing that, while these programs might have been useful during the tremendous economic downturn this past fiscal year, we are now 16 months past enactment of the Farm Bill and still some program award dates are not expected until well after the beginning of 2010. We urge USDA to redouble their efforts to get these programs underway," Subcommittee Ranking Member K. Michael Conaway said.
Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee website: http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.
Panel I
• Ms. Judy Canales, Administrator, Rural Business and Cooperative Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
• Mr. Randall Jones, President and CEO, Lumbee River Electric Membership Cooperation, Red Springs, North Carolina
• Arlen Kangas, Ph.D., President, Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
• Ms. Amy Crystle, CSA Manager, Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, Leola, Pennsylvania
• Timothy Collins, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Macomb, Illinois
• Mr. Leo Hoehn, General Manager, Stateline Bean Producers Cooperative, Gering, Nebraska
http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov
Source: House Committee on Agriculture
