Transcripts For CSPAN3 Rural Development Energy Programs Hearing 20171004

Our committee must be mindful the very tough budgetary environment that we have to face. While it is a principle duty of this committee, to ensure the next farm bill provides our nations Agricultural Producers with the necessary tools and rories to feed a growing and hungry world, a responsibilities in the world of u. S. Day do not stop there. The it is also critical to support Rural Businesses and cooperatives and Health Clinics and schools, Renewable Energy and bio based product manufacturers and other essential Service Providers. We serve as the backbone of the communities our farmers and ranchers call home. Earlier this year, at our committees first field hearing in manhattan, kansas, home of the ever optimistic and fighting wildca wildcats, we had the opportunity to hear from a number of stakeholders that i believe share much of the same passion and commitment to Rural America today. To the witnesses, i apologize. We listened to the manager after the electric cooperative explain how well interests and Utility Services and loans make it possible for small cooperatives to provide rural candidates with afford bable and reliable energy. The producer smoke spoke about the Important Role Renewable Energy plays in a new market demand for a number of mod xhodties important to all of our member states. And we heard a Rural Telecom provider discuss daily challenges she faces. The distinguished chairman has departed. With 3 million fewer people i hope todays conversation will provide opportunities to hear a broader perspective of the needs throughout farm country. For the rules Housing Service and business cooperatives. And america and provide an update on program functions. For our second panel, well hear from a broad set of stakeholders including representatives of cooperatives who work every day to provide essential utilities to farmer, ranchers and small towns across the country. A university professoren and chemical product development. Save on energy. Instructions today regarding the and hearing from witnesses needed to grow and thrive. Well, thank you very much, mr. Chairman for holding this hearing. This is such an important hearing to discuss issues that are so critically important to small towns and Rural Communities in michigan and kansas and all across the country. I want to welcome our witnesses today. Thank you for your work. Earlier this year, we held a hear iing to examine the state the farm and rural economy. There, we heard loudly and clearly those who work in Rural America are facing tough economic times, what we also learned is that there are ma many create good paying jobs. Rural communities to feel the effects of an economic on an improving economy. As a result, we should be make ing more investments. Looking ahead to the next bill, we need to think longterm. The Rural Development and Energy Titles that were discussing today have a wealth of opportunities. I grew up in one of those small towns in Northern Michigan and i know how important it is to have robust support for agriculture and business expansion. Its very personal for me. In order to for our communities to thrive, they need to be able to compete in the 1ist century economy. Improving access to high Speed Internet. Its one of the top ways to make sure that happens. Usda provides critical support and capital to expand broad band access. We need the to strengthen the tools b available to extend high Speed Internet to every corner of the country. We also need to continue investing in other forms of infrastructure. Its unacceptable that there are small towns that cannot afford to modernize their water systems. Small businesses need access to capital as well. While also offering new Employment Opportunities for the community at large. In michigan, agricultural and manufacturing are the heart of our economy. We dont have a middle class unless we make things and grow things. Instead of using petroleum, companies are creating new product frs american grown crops. The benefit is twofold. New markets for farmers and new jobs. Additionally, the farm bill invests in Renewable Energy, which also leads to job creation. There are now 92,000 Clean Energy Jobs in michigan alone. The popular energy for america helps producers and businesses lower their bills through installing Energy Systems an, making Energy Efficiency upgrades. And pay less that the at the pump. Its clear the opportunities we created, excuse me, in the 2014 farm bill are helping our small towns. Create jobs and support communities where parents want to raise their children, so as we begin work on the next bill, i look forward to building on that progress. To help Rural America reach its full potential. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank the senator. Mr. Chairman. In the event i cant get back or have a witness, is that possible if its on the second panel . I have a panelist today from south dakota. Incredibly capable general manager and Telecommunications Cooperative which is in wall, south dakota. There. Hell be 98 in december. He spends a lot of time wahoffing cable and the internet and probably one of my most informed and least paid constituents. Inevitably, he calls me to complain about whatever hes seeing that were doing. Golden west has been around for a long time and denny has a 27 year history in that industry all in south dakota. And what makes his current job as ceo of Golden West Telecommunications so challenging is his companys location in one of the most rural areas of the country. With ranch and farming operations positioned miles apart and often one to two hours from a larger city like rapid city. Yet hes managed to meet the challenges by developing reliable broad brand providing access for jobs, education and health care. Hes helped keep a large part of south dakota in charge of the Telecommunications Industry that most of us take for granted. Denny has served as general manager of sioux valley in south dakota. Went on to become the Eastern Region manager and served as ceo since 2008. Got a bachelors degree in science and journalism which means hes very conflicted when it comes to the football season. But i want to thank him for appearing before this committee and for sharing your recommendations on how this committee through the next farm bill can help you and your company improve access to broad band and rural areas. I thank you for that indulgence and appreciate having him here today. Thank you, senator. I know youre very busy and urge you to keep working on tax reform as a very important member of the finance committee. Especially on behalf of the roberts amendment as its known in south dakota or in today, miss ann serves as substantiate to the secretary for Rural Development. An indiana native. Ann has worked on agriculture and rural issues for over 15 years. She was the director of agriculture for her home state. She was an adviser to the governor at that time. She is a graduate of kansas state university. Graduating with a bash leadoff of science in agriculture. She holds a masters from the university of arkansas. The next witness is mr. Rich davis. He has been serving as deputy administrator for Community Programs and Rural Development since august of 2010. Th help improve facilities in rural areas. These include health care, school, Public Safety and a variety of other types. Sy, we thank you for your service and thank you for pg here today. Next is mr. Parker. Has worked development for more than 26 years and his current capacity, he manages a team that provides assistance to Rural Communities in areas of property development, research and education. Quite a list. Hard to pronounce u. Thank you for your service. The last witness is mr. Mcclean, acting director of the rural Utilities Service. Rus. He oversees the operations of the planning, policy and finance agency focused on rural, electric telecommunications broad band water and sewer systems. Thanks to the witnesses for being here today. Ann, why dont you kick off. Good morning. Im honored to discuss prosperity in Rural America, a passion i know i share with each of you today and a topic of critical importance as you write the next farm bill. Growing up in indiana, agriculture and small towns rb have been my lifes calling. Start ng the 4h program as a young girl, i followed by love of farming into college and law school so i could be an advocate for Rural America. Over the course of my career, ive been blessed to serve as counsel to the natricultural co. Ive had a chance to represent my home state. In each of these chapters, developed an appreciation for the role of policy and partnerships in assisting communities craft and execute a vision for their future. I have a deep respect for each of you as chief advocates for the interest of your state and understanding of the chals you face in writing a bill that will meet so many different needs. Conditions in many communities are incredibly challenging. Today, 85 of the poorest counties are in rural areas. When kids get older and look to begin their career, few come home to the towns in which they xwru up and in many small towns, theres not the access to Critical Infrastructure that folks need to stay connected to a modern economy. When we look at these challenges, we are asking what can we do to make a difference to help build prosperity . In answering that important question, i have found the best answers come from the ground outside of d. C. Just last week, i made a visit to olivia, minnesota, a small city that has recently built a day care, asking how the town had come to make this ward looking investment, i was told the reason was simple. When any sight slkter comes to visit, theyre looking for four things. Day care, high Speed Internet, good roads and rail access. We want to be a partner to communities like olivia in building prosperity. Through the farm bill, congress has p provied tded tools. Secretary purdue has set several priorities for the team. We are developing solutions for four key issues impacting Rural America. Quality of life, rural workfo e workforce, innovation and development. With these resource, we will be looking to work in strong collaboration with our many partners at the state and local level who are on the front lines making a difference in these communities. It is a necessity, not amenity. With that, a new Infrastructure Fund would offer a fund that would respond to the needs of Rural America such as broad band connectivity. Finally, we are focused on innovation. Finding new ways to assist communities in addressing the many challenges and opportunities they face. Led by an officer, this team will house several important functions. We help this will assist communities in developing sluss. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you for what you to each day to be a strong voice. As you move forward, we are committed to working with each of you to ensure that Rural America is a place of prosperity for generations the come. Thank you. Good morning members of the committee. I appreciate this opportunity to testify before you today. Let me begin by thank g congress for its ongoing support. The world Housing Service has made significant and transformtive investments to strengthen the nations small towns and Rural Communities. If program, a key part of the rhs portfolio, supports this mission by investing in critically need ed infrastructure. Our Program Provides Rural America with access to much needed capital. Where Financial Options are are limited or nonexistent. In recent year, mohannad for the low cost longterm financing has surged and the direct program has experienced a nine fold inkrecrease in funding level. Continues to maintain a strong pipeline of projects for next year. The portfolio is 8. 8 billion with the majority in the World Health Care sector, education alpha silties, public buildings and safety infrastructure. The Financial Health remains strong and the direct loan program will have a negative credit subsidy rate in fis year 18. It also lends itself well to addressing Current Issues and challenges face Rural America. Rhs can play an Important Role in the crisis by streptenning the investment in Mental Health care and other facilities that provide treatment and recovery support. By supporting a wide range of day care including charter schools. A positive start will provide children with opportunities to further education and achievement. This Program Supports institutions to meet needs and physician and other skilled professional shortages across Rural America. In recent years as the size and complexity of our prokts has grown, facile to leverage critical financial project management, Technical Expertise and innovation to leverage large complex Community Infrastructure projects. As we move ford war, rhs the confident it will successfully implement the programs needed for a thrive v thriving Rural America. Thaupg for this opportunity to share with you how rhs expanding equal opportunity in Rural America through improve iing th quality of life. Thank you. We thank you, especially being on time. Mr. Parker. Good morning. Chairman roberts an members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to discuss our programs through increasing access to capital and expabding the economy including bio fuels and Renewable Energy. They are at forefront improving lives. Our programs keep jobs in Rural America and help economies compete in a global marketplace. To date in 2017, the Rural Business cooperative service has successfully delivered 1. 7 billion in funding to Rural Americans. That helped 12,500 businesses create or save about 55,000 jobs. Our path forward is to focus on our able thety to efficiently and responsibly find Government Services that meet the needs of Rural Americans. The Service Remains committed to revitalizing communities by expanding economic opportunity, creating jobs and proving infrastructure and expanding markets for existing businesses in order to ensure a vibrant economy. We administer loan and Grant Programs that not only make capital available, but attract Investment Capital to rural areas that might not see such investments. The service is a leader promote ing the expansion of o projects and jobs in Rural America. We administer a suite of programs that promote a Sustainable Energy feature. The rural energy for America Program is our most successful program. Reap promoting development for Agricultural Producers and smaud businesses. In 2017 alope, reap will provide funding for other 100 projects with total costs over 1 billion and leverage nearly 18 times the amount of Budget Authority provided for the year. They provide Job Opportunities and enhances Educational Services that enable them to compete in a global economy. They create Job Opportunities and revenues are maintained and recirculating locally. One of the larnlest cooperatives is the value added. The grant funds may be uses for planning activities and working capital for markets value added products and farm based Renewable Energy. The Rural Business cooperative service is committed to promoting Economic Prosperity and communities through improved access. As we move forward, we kopt to examine and look for funts to create efficiencies and seek to target and leverage resource for the impact. Thaupg for the time, mr. Chairman and members of the committee. Its an honor to be here today and i hope my testimony is informative. Thank you for your 2 years. Mr. Mcclain. Thaupg for the opportunity to testify today and thaupg for your support for rural lek rick, water, tell dmun kagss and broad band infrastructure investment. The storms remind us how important basic infrastructure is. The heroic response of utility workers helping damaged systems restore power, communications and water illustrates the true spirit of Rural America and the longterm success of the Public Private partnership that has been nurtured by this committee and the usda. Usda investments and basic infrastructure helped deliver faster electricity, internet and clean, safe water to help Healthy Communities grow and prosper. Today, our rural utilities properortfolio of lopes outstan is nearly 60 billion. Program level is 9 billion. Our lek tri program, u. S. Funding is helping rural infrastructure. It is investing in Smart Technology toins crease efficiency and hardening the grid it finances advanced Tele Communications service. Lack access to modern broad band service. During the fy17 they expect to obligate over 427 million these investments for talents and products. The Community Connects program making profound differences in the communities they serve. It to fund first time brond band service and 24 million for projects. Limited loan and grant funds. Often serving some of the most financially needty communities in our nation. We are focused on providing water and Wastewater Services that are essential to the health, safety and Economic Future of those who live and work in and around small town america. The program for our entire agency continue to work to streamline our procedures and automate where we can. To reduce paper and speed efficiency. We continue to work to improve the Customer Experience as well as make sound decisions that continue to make po the american taxpayers. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss increased opportunity and quality of life in Rural America. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks to all of the witnesses and lets start off with you. Share with us your vision. This is new for the Rural Development Innovation Center. Is there an example regarding how it would improve the assistance provided to our Rural Community. Important activities. We with are also looking to drive other activity from the sent their would be designed to foster activity. A specific example i think i can give in the area of Trend Analysis and partnerships. When we think about communities in Rural America and some of the challenges they face, whether it is the loss of a particular sector or rise of a particular health challenge. We hope a team of folks devoted by identifying best practices that have been successful in other communities addressing that same issue and link them to other partnerships. I have a specific example. I had an opportunity to visit on Rural Health Care as well as from the ckansas farm bureau. We had a discussion about best practices and pie pilot initiatives. I think thats an example of an issue thats in many other states as well that the Innovation Team could help with. I appreciate that very much. I cospon toed a bill earlier this year which would prioritize the Community Facility funding for the correction or improvements as mentioned. We have seen on up tick over the years. It is to treat folks with those issues. Currently we are seeing a pipeline going into fiscal year 18 of about 400 million and the needs for these facilities. You oversee a wide variety. Can you discuss how to particular programs currently are geared towards this why. Thank you. Yes. It provides loans, grants and guarantees. They also do numerous other targeted ways to improve Rural Business lives. Some of the ways is they can work with the business organizations. They can work with local lenders to make sure there is access to capital and they understand how to reach those pieces of capital. It allows other types of lenders to because we put a guarantee on those loans they are able to sell portions of those loans up to the secondary market allowing them to continue to lend what their normal lending limit would be. We also have program that is reduce energy costs for the ad producers and reknewable energy allowing them to prosper in the rural committee. We have programs to invest in a that steejic manner into rural kmubties. We have ways providing around the development of new businesses providing funding to organizations that assist no those ways. It provides job training and feasibility studyiiesstudies. Thank you, sir. This was for the entire panel at the time. What would be the key challenge you face . Can you give me your key challenge . Thank you. I would say that the key issue, we have a passion. We are anxious to develop all of Rural America. Our primary tool that we have available to us are loan dollars. Those loans depend significantly on Revenue Streams that are under the jurisdiction of the federal communications commission. And the key challenge is to make longterm lending based on the promise of 1996 of predictable and sufficient universal Service Support and where we see stability in those support levels we see growth and demand for our loan products. We have uncertainty of that support. There is a hesitancy to be able to invest in telecommunications in rural areas. We have some of our finest borrowers and great examples. In fact we recently approved kansas loan in our Senior Loan Committee and we have rtc in western kansas doing wonderful things there. It is a big big challenge and it depends on Revenue Sources that are beyond the control of the Service Provider and beyond the control of the agency. Thank you very much. Thank you. Welcome again to all of you. I appreciate your work. Welcome back to the committee. It is wonderful to have you back with us. Broadly, before getting into specifics, i know you said in your testimony that the u. S. Da is only agency in the federal government that has distinct mission of creating jobs in rural areas, basic infrastructure and providing access to highSpeed Internet. Thats why i was very concerned. We looked at the cuts in all of those areas. I wonder if you could speak to in broad measures where you see us going and do you think we need more or less . Thank you. Im committed to making effective use of the resource rs congress provides to meet those needs. Thank you very much. I look forward to working with you on that as well. I would just say things like Small Business and so on. So look forward to working with you on that. I would like to talk about broad band which is a passion of mine. You were talking about that being a passion of yours in your agencies as well. When we think about how we move forward, whether its Small Businesses we talked to that want to sell their product around the world and still be in Northern Michigan looking at the great lakes and the beautiful quality of life that we have or whether its our hospitals that want to connect and provide highest quality medical care or whether its schools and so on and so on we know that this is the piece at least i believe its the piece. You speak to this and would welcome them to speak about the priority right now of making sure that we are seconding and not leaving Rural America behind right now to expand high Speed Internet to small towns in michigan as well as all across the country. Thank you very much. We are taking by any means necessary approach using every tool we do have available to us. Which can be leveraged to be able to provide Broad Band Services. And reliable revenues where we are seeing fiber to the home. We recently approve add batch of loans in south dakota. It is possible to be able to do this. There are segments of the rural market that the story is still being written as to what levels of support would be available. There is a major proceeding to address those rural areas of Large Telecom providers. We are watching very very closely and where appropriate providing advice on how those new support mechanisms will reveal themselves and inspire investors, local cooperatives and new providers to be able to invest in Broad Band Services in those underserved air i cant say. I know my time is up but would anyone else like to speak from your perspective . Thank you. I would adjust stepping out from the program side for a second i would raise the opportunity for collaboration here. I mentioned Rural Prosperity Task force. I think a lot of this also comes down to leadership and needing to see the different federal agencies that play a role in this important issue working together. I know that he and chairman are in close contact. Well, i just echo what the Ranking Member just said. This is so so very important. We are not doing as well as kansas evidently. I need to visit with the chairman about that. But 84 , you know, lack access to quality broad band, which is 30 higher than the national average. So it is something that really is very very important. I guess the question i would ha have. It makes it easier to get these things done. As we look at the importance of broad band infrastructure and the tool, the lifeline it is for quality of life we are really look at this from three different pieces. I mentioned looking at the different agencies that we were working on this topic and making sure there is better collaboration there im also looking in the deployment of this technology. What are these proms that we have and how can we make our tools easier to use and easier to apply for . We look forward to offer specific improvements to the broad band programs. It is by providing affordable finance and longterm finance to those that do investment invest. And looking if we can find multiple uses for the same infrastructure it brings the costs down. We are seeing senators between Public Safety and broad band deployment. When rural providers deploy broad band we are also seeing wireless providers take advantage of that capacity along the highway. So its finding multiple uses to bring the cost down and having a reliable source of financing and revenues for those who are actually putting those investors that are putting those dollars at stake. Very good. I know you all are committed and i know secretary perdue understands the importance of this. It is something thats on the mind of our constituents. You simply cant go forward in this day and age that we live without having that ability. I would like to switch gears a little bit. Ms. Haslet, earlier this year in the water fisher ris in the Sub Committee hearing that i chaired one of my constituents testified ability his struggles with a lock of running water. However with the assistance of a u. S. Da grant they were able to bring fresh reliable Drinking Water to their homes and homes of their neighbors. As we look to address our nations crumbling infrastructure and write the next farm bill these two arent exclusive. Can you talk about u. S. Das water and wastewater programs and what more can be done to ensure the access to safe reliable water . Thank you for raising this issue. I understand it is great. I have seen it in my own travels. If you provide funding we will build infrastructure with the dollars that are provided. Certainly there is always opportunity for improvement and i would allow mcclan to elaborate. This gentleman that i referenced was right outside of fayetteville, which you flow very very well. I do thank you very much. This year alone the Utilities Service has obligated about 35 million of investments in the state of arkansas. We are very very proud of that. Very innovative municipalities that are bringing water and sewer systems to their communities. Its hard. Its tough. Our loan and Grant Programs are focused on communities of 10,000 or less and we have to mix that loan and grant to target those that are needed the most. There is always more demand for resources than we have available. We just we work really hard to be able to spend down to the very last penny in order to invest resources wisely. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you mr. Chairman. We have a judiciary meeting going on twodoors aw doors awa. Im trying to be at both of them. The Opioid Epidemics require u. S. D. A. To make a priority to direct loans and grants for substance Disorder Treatment Services Including facilities and so on. I think we should make a priority to that. We also have to find new resources to combat it. We should find our way to increase funding for community facilities, combat, opioid addiction. I ask you this. Will you support only to make a priority of granlts that will combat the Opioid Epidemic but direct loans and grants to continue serving communities as loans and grants do now and what can we do to improve programs that are strulging with opioid i mean it has become in some places, you know, am em demi an epidemic. I think its fair to say every single senator on this panel worries about. Thank you for your leadership. He recently held a listening session. We had an opportunity to see some of the things that are working in the northeast very well to address this issue. I think, you know, u. S. D. A. s role in this topic, we certainly have the immediate shortterm programs for communities to access as they are helping build that immediate response. Our Communities Facilities Program and we also have the Distance Learning program as well as grant resources. I think another significant opportunity is really that longer horizon. We are well positioned to be a Strong Partner in addressing some of the root challenges. But youll need more money, is that correct . Certainly more resources will be needed. Are you going to push for those resources . You have me to steward blafr resources are provided. You have my commitment to steward the resources that are provided. Well, i would to steward them youre going have to get them. I realize the restraints but you have to ask for the money. You have to push for the money. This is not a republican or democratic thing. We are all concerned. We also have our committee. Vermont depends on 1. 4 billion Forest Committee every yea forest economy every year. We have really nice forests. In vermont across the new england we are struggling with loss for low grade wood due to the closure of several pulp mills. We need of course we see it in conduction and furniture and everything else. If you have poor Forest Management we all know fires will occur. Can it support a struck Forest Products industry . We talk about normal, a lot of crops, but forests are part of that, are they not . Thank you, senator lehey for raising an important sector of the northeast economy. I had an opportunity to travel to the northest earlier this month and certainly saw firsthand the importance of the industry in the region. I am committed to enhancing the committee. I will let mr. Parkers elaborate on some of the Business Tools that might be there. And my last question. I was disapoint when i saw that they to eliminate Grant Programs including section 502, 504 and 515. These provide Affordable Housing in essential Rural America. Im asking will you work with the secretary and this committee because we all have rural areas that are effected to find out how to create a Sustainable Housing strategy . Thanks. Thank you. I appreciate the importance of that issue . Rural communities and i will work with you to ensure innovation and that we leverage the resources provided. Mr. Davis, youll work with us too. Absolutely. It is important to the success of Rural America, so absolutely. Thank you. I noted that mr. Davis nodded his head up and down vigorously. So the record shows it was a vigoro vigorous. Thats correct. Thanks for holding this hearing. I spent decades in the private sector before entering public service. As we say back home, technology has removed geography as a constraint. They can start up their own Small Businesses when oracle akwiea acquired or company they have three for their cloud operations for the seventh largest cloud. They have three cloud command centers. So this is nba level, firststring companies in the technology sector. But this is going to be impossible to keep moving forward unless we close this rural urban gap. The lack of any speeds that rural residents have. I hear we have to get from 4g to 5g in some of these areas. That are places that havent even found the alphabet yet. We are not talking about g. We will bring industry and government leaders together to talk about how technology can continue to help Rural Communities grow. Addition additionally programs are important to rural areas across the country. They only wlerng they are applied correctly in communities that truly have need. Our u. S. Broad band loans and grants have helped in the united states. The impact of some programs have been limited in my home state of montana. Montana has not received a Community Connect grant during the 15 year tenure. Could you help explain the criteria for this in similar grants and loans and how montana communities can be better utilizers of this Important Program . Sure. Thank you. I would be delighted to. First of all, montana has some of the finest rural companies in america it was focused on community that is have zero broad band, no availability at all. We are able to do right around ten or so grants a year based on the dollars that are appropriated. Some years it has been significantly less. We were able to shake up the cushions and make it a little bit more, but its been typically right around 10 million. We can do about ten grants and they are just very very very competitive. We are delighted to work with communities and we do webinars and would be happy to advise on how to apply. We look forward to working with you and your staff. Thank you. I want to talk about triable issues. The state recognized 65 of the population on triable lands lack access to fixed telecommunications services. Many Small Companies have brought wide band access including trying communications, but i think the federal government does play a role and what are they doing to expand k access to triable communities . Triable communities are we are in frequent cob in working to be able to provide outreach and explain how our programs work. One of the challenges are right of way where the ownership of land is often checker board. Some land is privately held and some is held in trust and some is held by families that are disbursed maybe not even aware of their ownership of the land. I actually worked on there was a major project in montana that ran right up against that problem. It was not able to be completed because there was inability to be able to get con sen sesz on how the rights of way would be managed. I know im out of time. Thank for the comments. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I would like to thank ann haslet. Thank you for your service. It is always great. Before we get in i want to thank you for the people of indiana and for the country. Im sure youll make all of us proud. I want to ask you about an issue that i know is dear to your heart and mind and to many hoosiers abdomnd to all of us. I know youre aware. We are responded to the challenges of addiction. I have been working in trying to ensure u. S. D. A. Has the resources it needs to help our Rural Communities respond more effectively. I have been fortunate to introduce a pair of bills. I want to thank them both for their partnership to provide Rural Communities with whats needed. Opioid and Substance Abuse but accessing treatment is even more of a challenge in some of our rural areas. Can you discuss how u. S. D. A. s will rep rural families and Rural Communities address the crisis . Thank you for raising this important issue and for your leadership on it. Both of the programs that you highlight are certainly being used well right now to address both providing Treatment Facilities in communities as well as using innovation to access those services that might not be located in the immediate town. Certainly mr. Davis can go into specific numbers that we have. I think one of the things i would like to circle back to that im excited about, the Innovation Center that he intends to create. I think its a good example for communities finding themselves in the cross hair for the first time and want to know what worked well in other places, whether its through treatment resources or some of the other ways that a Rural Community might have a unique asset to address this challenge. Thats a great example of something that the Innovation Center so that communities do not feel alone. Im sure we both agree that substance and abuse are really critical to ensure not only treating the symptoms. A program youre aware of, which has great reach into our Rural Communities offer prevention programs which has been shown to lower levels of Substance Abuse in younger people. Can you discuss how important communities like these are for our families in. Absolutely. I have had an opportunity to see that program firsthand on the grouchbltd i think one of the great strengths of after program like that is that it is looking at some of the urnlying causes that lead for many of these situations lead families into many of these situations. When we look at those types of programs i think we are not just changing that immediate situation but we are having a Broader Community conversation about factor that is need to be addressed to have prosperity and quality of life. Things like food security, literacy rates. It becomes a catalyst for a broader conversation in a stronger Rural America for the future thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you mr. Chairman. I wanted to start with a question for mrs. Haslet. I wanted to make two brief comments. First, the broad band focus of this hearing and i think bipartisan concern about that is significant and i think the problem is urgent. I spent a lot of time in august going to counties in our state that are substantially rural. I was in counties where 50 and 52 of the folks that live in that county dont have high Speed Internet. Counties all across the state that have 40, 50, 60 without broad band. It is a major impediment. We are grateful. Second, im hoping that history repeats itself in the appropriations process where the administration unfortunately made a ser ies of proposals in the budget. On and on and on. The aproppuaters i hope history repeats itself though when it comes to the administrations proposal with regard to the farm bill which is to say its outrageous and on noxious doesnt get to the heart of it. Cutting the program by i think 193 billion. I wanted to ask you about though the fresh food financing initiative, which is a Success Story from pennsylvania replicated in a number of states around the country of Pennsylvania Program created over 5,000 jobs or created or retained i should say. There is a substantial personal investment how do do you that Going Forward because its been Battle Tested or road tested. I want to get your sense of it. Thank you senator casey for raising an important issue, food, insecurity and hunger in communities. Economic opportunity and prosperity. When we look at the Healthy Food Financing Initiative i think you see an exciting model of a Public Private partnership but an innovative way in looking at solving a longstanding challenge. Rural america is certainly not immune from that. We are looking forward to working with National Fund manager that has been designated as they move forward with implementation as an opportunity to leverage some of the relationships that they have working in the sector to enhance further investments in this area particularly in low income Rural Communities. I hope if we go forward if there are things or priorities or funding or otherwise i hope you alert us to that. Sit a valuable resource to assist Small Businesses in new and beginning veteran farmers with marketing of new products to increase income in our state. These grants have been awarded to market beef processing and process milk products and finish bottled wines. Can you we lab wait on how this can be expanded to reach new audiences . Thank you. This program really touches everything from jam to lotion to everything in between. It has really opened doors to new Business Opportunities for broad range of Agricultural Produce producers. Great. Thanks very much. Thank you mr. Chairman. A vote has been called at the interest of bipartisan shiship h is a strong element. I am now yielding the gavel to the distinguished senate to michigan on a temporary basis. I dont know, mr. Chairman, i may not give it back. There is always that worry. Thank you mr. Chairman. When you come back ill do the same after you vote. I think next up we have senator bennett. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you for your service, all of you. I want to express my gratitude for hosting a meeting earlier this week with senators that are concerned about the fire borrowing issue which i know is not the topic of this hearing. I just want to say to my colleagues, this is something that solving this is long overdue. The secretary of agriculture is following up on commitmented he made during the confirmation process. I hope we will continue together and solve this issue for our states, not just our western states but all over the country. I wanted to ask you, i have been around colorado all this year as i ever ever year. It is clear that Rural Communities as they are in america continue to struggle with this challenging commodity and environment. Farm incomes decreasing. Also in our part of the world with prolonged drought and limited access to Affordable Land and water. Scientists estimate new technologies could sequester carbon emissioning across the committee while enharassing soil and health. Meaning there is additional farmland that is not being taken into account. I was pleased to hear him discuss his commitment. I agree with his assessment of that as well. I think colorados producers do as well. We improve the livelihoods of the next generation by diversifying Economic Opportunities for farmers and ranchers. I want today ask you whether youre willing to work to identify opportunities to decrease the amount of car don pollution while also enhancing farm incomes. Thank you for raising this issue. You know, u. S. D. A. , for many years our committed to the future of Rural Communities. Our programs have adapted and adjusted to issues that have been important at the time and that will not change. Thank you. Im glad to hear that. I know in some ways were on the cutting edge here, but its so important for us to plan for the future to be resilient for the future. Where there is the possibility of adding new streams of income to our farmers and ranchers operations, its critical for us to consider what those look like. Anybody else that would like to say anything about that . I wanted to talk about Water Infrastructure as well. And let me also say, madame chair, that i think the concern about broad band is one that everybody on this committee shares and our communities desperately share. We say that one community can have broadband and one cant. One group of students saying they can have textbooks and another group cannot. It is entirely unacceptable from the standpoint of rural children in my state. I know in yours as well. So weve got to stay focused ob that. I also just wanted to talk a little bit about Water Infrastructure. I was in cuba who pointed out to me they dont have a track kor in cuba newer than 50 years old. That seemed like a great opportunity for us. Then i left and thought to myself we dont have Water Infrastructure thats less than 50 years old. Including in colorado. The usdas ruling had a significant backlog as has been discussed of applications for loans and grants to rehabilitate infrastructure. In colorado this program provided 13 loans and 6 grants to communities of fewer than 5,000. Theres a 30 million backlog in colorado alone. Despite this the Budget Proposal zeroed out the Water Infrastructure program. Id like to ask you what you view as the biggest hurdle to reducing this backlog in the program. Well, we execute the laws that Congress Passes and the appropriations that congress provides and to our greatest extent possible, we try to focus our resources where they can be the most helpful. We typically allocate water funding to our state offices of Rural Development. And then at the end of the year, if individual states dont use those dollars, we pool them on the federal level and then target them towards high priority projects. Any given time, i have projects that are waiting funding. And the enjen knewty and creativity of our staff in the rural water and sewer authorities across the country take those resources and leverage them and we look for every opportunity to be able to stretch those dollars. So would you say the backlog is theres not enough money. The backlog is projects awaiting funding. So this is another place where we are failing to invest. I think we have to find a way because we have to recognize there are budget constraints. We have to find a way to have a more creditive approach to financing projects as well. I think the idea that they would zero out this particular part in the budget is entirely unacceptable. I would say to democrats and republicans on this panel, well have to figure out a different solution. Thank you, madame chair. Thank you very much. I would underscore your comments as well, senator bennett. Thank you, madame chair. Thank all of you for your testimony. I just want to pick up on the broad band deployment point. I heard senator bennett was talking or i saw saying it was in rural areas. Do you agree . Would you agree you have a lot of work to meet the Economic Needs of Rural America. So i wanted to raise with you the issue thats pending right now before the fcc. They have a 706 inquiry. Are you familiar with that . Yes, sir. I have been hearing a lot about this from rural parts of my state. And the gist of that inquiry is whether or not for the purposes of determining whether we have adequate broadband deployment in rural areas or any area, we can say that wireless deployment is good enough and that we dont also have to look at the deployment of fixed broadband. Are you familiar with that . The National Rural electric cooperation is one of many that has filed comments in that case. And on page two of their filing, they just state flat out the commission meaning the fcc should continue broadband separately in determining whether advanced Communications Capabilities are being deployed to all americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. Do you agree with that statement . So my question now is whether or not the department of agriculture has weighed in or commented as well before the fcc with respect to the proposal thats pending. The 706 inquiry. I will defer to be able to answer. Thank you, senator. Im not aware of this issue, but well certainly be happy to follow up today. Connectivity in america and happy to get you that information. Senator, if i may address that point. We have not filed as a petitioner with the fcc. We have an ongoing dialogue with the fcc. And the secretary of agriculture is chairing the Agriculture Task force, which the chairman is a member and i can report it isnt the focus of that effort. And that dialogue, although not proceeding as a formal petition, is ongoing between the executive branch agencies. I would just say if the i took the secretarys word as well if hes engaged in these issues, but if hes not fully aware and engaged with whats happening, the grants that are provided by the department of agriculture, communications l n loans and rural broad band loans, they are all very important. Whats happening could have an even bigger impact on the deployment of broadband in rural areas. And that is why you have the cooperative association weighing in. So im going to ask you whether or not the department of agriculture will weigh in with the fcc and let them know that the position of the department of agriculture is to not count wireless deployment as a total substitute for fixed deployment. There are huge differences between the two in terms of the capabilities and the costs. So i know you cant answer that today, but i would like the department of agriculture to get back to us, to get back to me. Former ek wi fax chair Richard Smith is on capitol hill this morning for a second day. Were going to take you live to that now as hes giving testimony on the wide reach iin data breach of personal data from his company. This morning hes sitting before the Senate Banking committee. Today will be the second of four appearances on capitol hill. He will be before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee this afternoon and tomorrow he will be before the House Financial Services committee. Well cover that hearing live starting at 9 30 eastern. The breach exposed personal data of almost 146 million people. This hearing about to get underway live here on cspan 3