Today Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) announced he included language in the FY 2017 U.S. House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill to bring aid to areas in the 28^th Congressional District with a history of poverty. All told, the language could lead to at least $924,630,300 million going to persistent-poverty areas. Now that the language has been approved, it will have to be approved by the full House and Senate before being sent to the President’s desk.

The congressman’s language calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prioritize and set aside at least 10 percent of federal funding through specific programs for counties where 20 percent or more of the population has lived in poverty over the past 30 years. Webb, Zapata, Starr, Hidalgo and La Salle counties meet this definition in the 28^th Congressional District.

Some of the programs that will prioritize persistent-poverty areas include:

·         Section 502 Single Family Housing Direct Loan Program ($1,000,000,000 for at least $100,000,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Mutual and Self-Help Housing Grants ($30,000,000 for at least $3,000,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Rural Community Facilities Program ($47,100,000 for at least $4,710,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Rural Business Program Account ($76,883,000 for at least $7,688,300 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Rural Cooperative Development Grants ($26,550,000 for at least $2,655,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program ($533,210,000 for at least $53,321,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Rural Electrification and Telecommunications Loans Program ($6,940,000,000 for at least $694,000,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

·         Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program ($62,560,000 for at least $6,256,000 for persistent-poverty areas)

The congressman similarly directed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to emphasize persistent-poverty counties in its efforts to improve economic opportunities for residents of rural, impoverished areas through the StrikeForce Initiative for Rural Growth and Opportunity. StrikeForce is a USDA program which has been providing assistance to rural areas since 2010. In 2015 the StrikeForce Initiative assisted 1,348 projects in Texas providing an investment of $462 million. 

In addition to the language calling on USDA to prioritize persistent-poverty areas the congressman advocated for funding to assist rural communities and colonias. 

The congressman secured $30 million for Rural Community Facilities Program Grants, an increase of $5 million over the government funding bill passed last December. The community facility program provides grants for the construction of essential community facilities, including health care facilities, such as hospitals and clinics; public facilities, such as town halls and courthouses; community support services, such as child care center and fairgrounds and public safety services, such as police and fire departments. At least 10 percent of these grants must be set aside for persistent-poverty areas.

The congressman also secured $53 million for water and waste disposal grants for areas like colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border. This money will go a long way toward helping the 400,000 Texans who live in colonias, unregulated, informal settlements that started to pop up along the border in the 1950s. Colonias have historically suffered from incomes much lower than in the rest of the state. According to the Texas Secretary of State’s office, the per capita income in border counties is much lower than in other counties across the state. While the statewide average in 2014 was $34,959, Starr and Hidalgo counties had per-capita annual incomes of $23,215 and $23,753, respectively.

“I wasn’t born wealthy, so I understand the importance of giving opportunity to those in rural areas so that they can succeed,” Congressman Cuellar said. “By including this language and funding for grant programs, I am confident that the rural residents of my district can take advantage of opportunities that might not have been available to them otherwise. I would like to thank Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4) and Ranking Member Sam Farr (D-CA-20) for helping me add this language. I would also like to thank Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY-17) for their support.”

The specific language the congressman included can be found here, and the entire text of the Report, including the amounts for the grant programs above, can be found here.