Engaging Rural Communities Through State Fairs Across the Country

Posted by White House

Over the past three months, senior leaders from the Administration have been visiting state fairs across the country to meet fair visitors and rural leaders and discuss some of the ways that the Obama Administration is working to support rural communities. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum are only a handful of the leaders who traveled around the country to enjoy the sites of the state fairs, meet 4-H and FFA young leaders, and discuss the ways that their agencies are working to support the Administration’s vision for keeping rural America strong.

During these visits, we heard firsthand how the economic downturn has created challenges in rural America as well as how rural communities are responding to the downturn by leading the charge on a number of important national priorities, such as increasing the production of renewable energy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating and expanding small businesses, and contributing talent and energy to national service. Members of the Cabinet and other senior officials learned about the importance of agriculture education and supporting the development of the next generation of farmers and ranchers, talked about the Obama Administration’s commitment to making college more affordable and accessible for all students, and discussed the significant investments that are being made in rural communities thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The steps that the Administration has taken over the past two years to support rural communities – investing in critical rural infrastructure and education, improving access to affordable health care, reforming our financial regulatory systems, promoting biofuels and other renewable energy, and expanding exports, to name a few – are critical building blocks in our effort to keep America’s rural communities strong and vibrant.

Click here to see all the fairs Administration officials visited, and scroll over it for details.

Report Shows The Recovery Act Creates Jobs and Changes Lives for the Better

Posted by White House

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a driving force in job creation and economic renewal in rural America.

Earlier today, I released a report (pdf) outlining how funds allocated to seven programs administered by USDA Rural Development have sparked economic growth, created or saved over 300,000 jobs, and funded projects in almost 3,000 counties. USDA staff approved 95,000 loans, made 2,500 grants and assisted 2,000 rural businesses with loan guarantees. We also assisted 93,000 American families close home loans, either by guaranteeing a loan from a lending institution or making a loan through our direct program. We approved Internet projects that will provide an estimated 7 million people, many of them in remote areas including Tribal lands, access to improved state-of-the-art broadband service.

Those are significant numbers, but as I travel the country, I am most impressed by the individuals who tell me how their lives are being changed, directly or indirectly, because of the Act. In Port Angeles, Washington, 147 workers have jobs because a Business Loan guarantee allowed a plywood plant to reopen after a three year shutdown. Older job seekers in Tennessee are receiving computer training and developing new work skills thanks to a computer lab funded with a Rural Business Enterprise Grant. A firm in Gering, Nebraska, saw demand for its homes rebound after USDA partnered with lending institutions, the city and a development firm to provide local residents with quality homes.

Through the Recovery Act, USDA has funded over 850 water projects to improve public health and environmental quality; over 560 public safety facilities; 312 cultural and educational facilities including 196 library projects; and over 180 healthcare facilities.

These efforts will continue to drive job creation for the next several years, but as importantly, the buildings, broadband and water systems, taken together, supply the economic fabric for business expansion by private companies. The Recovery Act is a continuing success, and today’s report confirms that.

Read the report (pdf).

DOT Online Map Collects Voices of the Recovery Act; Workers Encouraged to Upload Their Own Video Stories

Posted by White House

Cross posted from the Department of Transportation's blog.

I'm really pleased today to present a web experience honoring the men and women who are doing the heavy lifting to renew America's transportation infrastructure. With our interactive map, viewers can see all of the "Voices of the Recovery Act" videos from our YouTube channel on a single screen.

Each of these videos features a worker whose job was saved or created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In their own words, they talk about their Recovery Act projects and how they've built or repaired infrastructure, and how their projects jump-started economic activity in their communities.

From John Tracey in Maine to Alison Barber in Colorado to Bill Montgomery in California, tens of thousands of workers have put Recovery Act dollars to good use on more than 14,600

highway, road, transit, bridge, airport, and small shipyard projects nationwide.

Thanks to the Recovery Act, these good people, who would have been unemployed otherwise, are at work today on more than 13,900 needed projects currently underway. And in our video series you can hear them share what that has meant to them in tough economic times for the construction industry.

As Vice President Joe Biden said, "'Voices of the Recovery Act' is one more way in which the American people will be able to see their tax dollars at work helping to turn the economy around and put the country back to work.”

I encourage you to visit our online map, and listen as these workers tell their stories.

And, if you have a story to tell about how a Recovery Act transportation project has helped you find or keep a job, upload your video to YouTube and email us a link at recoveryvids@dot.gov.

President Proposes New Jobs, Renewed Infrastructure

Posted by White House

Yesterday I had the great honor of joining President Obama in Milwaukee to celebrate Labor Day. And it was a pleasure hearing his historic announcement of $50 billion in job-creating transportation infrastructure investments.

Infrastructure investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have already shown terrific results, and it makes good sense to continue.

Now, when this Administration took office, America was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Times today are still tough--we know that--and unemployment remains stubbornly high.

But I hate to think how much worse life would be if we had not passed the Recovery Act at the start of this presidency and begun implementing the most significant jobs and infrastructure plan since the New Deal.

You've seen the results across the country this summer: 33,000 miles of road improvements, enough to criss-cross the nation a dozen times. And even as those miles of roadwork are paving the way for a 21st century economy, they are also employing thousands of American workers.

In the 19 months since joining this Administration, I have traveled to more than 90 cities in 30 states. And everywhere I visit, people can't wait to tell me, “Thank you,” for getting them back to work. Or “thank you” for the peace of mind that comes from knowing they have a reason to put on their work boots in the morning.

In fact, as the President told the audience in Milwaukee, "Because of these investments, and the tens of thousands of projects they spurred all across the country, the battered construction sector grew last month for the first time in a very long time."

But we know there is much more to do over the long term. A 21st century economy is going to need a transportation infrastructure that can move its goods. Recovery Act investments have shown that transportation work benefits America from safety to efficiency to growth and--yes--to the jobs needed for the work we have too long deferred.

That’s why President Obama and this Administration want to revamp our approach to transportation and put more people back to work on more projects that will support our economy for years to come:

"It doesn’t do anybody any good when so many hardworking Americans have been idled, yet so much of America needs rebuilding. That’s why I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads and rails and runways for the long term.

Over the next six years we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads--enough to circle the world six times. We’re going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways--enough to stretch coast to coast. We’re going to restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next-generation air-traffic control system to reduce flight-times and delays for American travelers.

We used to have the best infrastructure in the world. We can have it again. We're going to make it happen. This will create jobs and make our economy run better over the long haul."

The President also pointed out that the $50 billion transportation infrastructure program will not add to the deficit over time: "This is a plan that will be fully paid for. We’re going to work with Congress to see to that."

New jobs, renewed infrastructure, and a new model for transportation investments--it sounds like a lot of work to me. And I, for one, am ready.

Five Years After Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, USDA Continues to Assist Gulf Residents

Posted by White House

Devastation caused five years ago to the Gulf region by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita remains historic in proportion. It resulted in loss of life, families being displaced, homes and businesses destroyed, and communities left in ruins. In the midst of this great tragedy, USDA Rural Development lent their knowledge and time to assist in the immediate hours following the passing of the storms. It was a new, but critical role of supporting other Federal agencies in swiftly establishing 80 disaster recovery centers; assisting local residents and leaders as they faced unparalleled adversity.

In the early days of the recovery efforts, USDA Rural Development placed 10,343 evacuees in 3,552 available housing units in 45 states, provided over 22,000 families with temporary loan forbearance agreements on their mortgage payments, and received almost 11,000 calls for assistance from affected residents. Over the last five years, USDA Rural Development continued to stand beside Gulf Coast families and communities as they undertook the challenge of rebuilding their lives and local economies.

Today, we have great pride in how families and communities have regained their sense of dignity and hope, in many cases, because USDA Rural Development was there along the path to recovery. One example is Ms. Samantha Hills, a single mother of two daughters who spent the last five years living with relatives. Employed as a bus driver with St. Charles Parish Schools, and working part-time as manager with Burger King, Ms. Hill has utilized funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to buy her own home. She is one of hundreds of Louisiana families that have utilized USDA Rural Development’s single-family housing programs to rebuild their lives. In fact, over the last two years, over 1,100 Louisiana families have been assisted through $165 million in ARRA funds for financing their home.

When we look at the devastation caused by Katrina and Rita, or later with the Mid-West floods, or more recently the Gulf oil spill, we are reminded that both man-made and natural disasters frequently leave families and communities with a great sense of loss and the emotional and financial challenge of rebuilding their homes, businesses and communities. I am proud of the women and men of USDA Rural Development, who rolled up their sleeves to help in this rebuilding effort.

Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore a Stimulus Success Story; Project to Add Desperately Needed Highway Capacity

Posted by White House

Cross-posted from the Department of Transportation's blog.

Yesterday, Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez went to Oakland to mark the beginning of what he called "a fascinating and critical phase" of the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore project.

You may remember a blog post earlier in the year marking the launch of this important addition to the Caldecott Tunnel. Well, this week, with the groundwork complete, the crew brings out the big machine--a road header--and the actual tunnel bore begins.

If you're a fan of transportation infrastructure, you know that's when things get interesting. Because a road header is not just any machine. It's a 130-ton rock-crunching, rotating cutting head built at the end of a boom that will push it though the bedrock of the Berkeley Hills.

But, for the many workers hired to prepare the site for the tunnel bore, it's been plenty interesting since January simply because they've had jobs.

And those hundreds of jobs would not have been created without the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act. You see, the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore, the nation's second largest highway project supported by the Recovery Act, is just one of many good transportation projects across the country that had been in the works for years but languished without adequate funding.

As Administrator Mendez said yesterday:

"It took the Recovery Act to provide the final piece of the funding puzzle and bring a project that’s been talked about for many years--even dreamed about by Bay Area commuters--and make it a reality. And, most importantly, there are lots of men and women who would not have jobs if not for the Recovery Act."

He's got that right. Already the Recovery Act has been responsible for more than 2.5 million jobs. And not just jobs, but also paychecks and increased demand for construction equipment and materials that ripple through communities boosting suppliers, grocery stores, and other businesses.

As President Obama said in June, we are truly "rebuilding America's economy by rebuilding America."

This summer, the Caldecott Tunnel bore--which will reduce congestion for 160,000 drivers every day and trim the greenhouse gas emissions associated with being stuck in traffic--is one of more than 11,000 road projects under way supported by stimulus money. In California alone, we have more than 450 projects under way this Recovery Summer, and every single one of those projects is employing good people in good jobs.

Ask the tens of thousands of transportation construction workers whose jobs would not have existed without stimulus money what they think of the stimulus, and they will tell you the real story: the Recovery Act has moved America's economy in the right direction.

To see for yourself, please visit our YouTube channel and watch our Voices of the Recovery Act series. You'll hear people like Bill Montgomery and Rhea Mayolo tell in their own words how the Recovery Act is working for America.