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On February 15, 2012, RUPRI President and CEO Charles Fluharty testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, in the first formal 2012 Farm Bill hearing. Fluharty stressed the importance of regional innovation, asset-based development and rural entrepreneurship, given new economic and budgetary realities facing decision makers at all levels. He also highlighted the significant rural disadvantages in both federal per capita spending funding on rural economic and community development, as well as in rural grantmaking by America's largest foundations.
Mr. Fluharty offered three specific policy recommendations to advance a more innovative Rural Development framework:
I. Given current budgetary challenges, it is critical that this Committee create a more innovative, streamlined, flexible, and regional approach to enable USDA RD to administer the remaining suite of recently-downsized, but very effective economic development programs in a more integrated, aligned, and leveraged framework, and wherever possible, in a regional context.
II. This regional framework should advance asset-based innovation and entrepreneurship, and above all else, align much more effectively and efficiently with other programs at sister federal agencies addressing similar needs.
III. Given past, current and future RD funding reductions, this Committee must ensure a sufficient level of rural debt, venture and equity capital, as well as an appropriate and flexible suite of federal instruments through which they are delivered, to meet rural financing need. In addition, this Committee should also explore why there continues to be a glaring lack of rural investment by our nation's major foundations.
Click links below:
Coverage of Testimony by:
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