New Infrastructure Plan Committed To Helping Rural America
With the official introduction of President Trump’s new infrastructure plan, America is at the beginning of massive investment and overhaul that will repair and improve the current state of our nation’s infrastructure. President Trump’s plan will commit $200 billion in federal funding for infrastructure projects, catalyzing upwards of $1.5 trillion in total infrastructure investment across the country. And, importantly, the President’s plan will emphasize infrastructure in our rural communities.
A quarter of the new federal infrastructure funding – $50 billion – has been committed to “modernizing and repairing the vital infrastructure of rural America.” This is long overdue, as our rural communities are often left behind when it comes to infrastructure. Improving simple things like roads and bridges, as well as providing access to high speed internet, are of true importance to our communities, and our country.
As Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue wrote,
“In my nine months in office, I have traveled to 33 states, including Iowa, taking a hard look at the challenges and opportunities in rural communities and hearing from rural citizens. At every stop, I heard about the dire need to expand broadband access, rebuild aging roads and bridges, provide clean water, and supply affordable, reliable power.
Specifically, I heard from people in agricultural communities who could use better transportation for moving American farmers and ranchers’ amazing bounty and enhancing access to their suppliers and customers, both domestically and internationally. Only with reliable and efficient infrastructure can rural America’s bounty be brought to market at home and abroad.”
Ensuring that our rural communities have that “reliable and efficient infrastructure” is a surefire way to both improve our communities and improve our country. The GAIN coalition strongly supports lifting up our rural infrastructure, as doing so will have positive ripple effects throughout our country, and throughout our economy.