Persistent Poverty Counties

·        The conference agreement requires that at least 10 percent of USDA Rural Development funding (excluding the broadband program) be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties.

Health Care

·        $2 billion to the Office of the National Coordinator of HIT to make sure that providers, especially in underserved communities, have money to invest and implement HIT in their facilities

·        $500 million to address shortages by training primary health care providers, under Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act, including physicians, dentists, and nurses as well as helping pay medical school expenses for students who agree to practice in underserved communities through the National Health Service Corps.

·        $1.5 billion for Community Health Centers for construction, renovation, and equipment, and for the acquisition of HIT systems and $500 million for services.

·        $2 billion for Section 330 facilities, including Community Health Centers

·        Incentive payments for meaningful adoption of HIT and HER to Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics & Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural PPS hospitals

·        $ 415 million for Indian Health Facilities for maintenance and improvement ($100 million), sanitation facilities construction ($68 million), for health care facilities construction ($227 million) and equipment ($20 million)

Rural Broadband

·        $4.7 billion for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program(TOP) to enable NTIA to provide broadband and wireless services to unserved and underserved areas.  Unserved and underserved are to be defined by NTIA in coordination with the FCC.  $350 million of the program is to be used for broadband mapping.  NTIA is to coordinate with states on identification of unserved and underserved areas within their borders. 

·        $2.5 billion for the existing deployment program run by Rural Utilities Service. 

Rural Housing

·        USDA’s Rural Housing Insurance Fund will receive $200 million to support $11,472 billion in direct and guaranteed single family housing loans to help rural families and individuals buy homes during the credit crunch. Of this amount, $1 billion is for direct loans and $10,472 is for guaranteed loans.

Rural Development

·        $130 million in budget authority for loans and grants for rural community facilities, supporting $1.2B in loans and grants for essential rural community facilities including hospitals, health clinics, health and safety vehicles and equipment, public buildings and child & elder care facilities. 

·        $150 million in budget authority for rural business-cooperative service to support $3 billion in rural business loans and grants.  Of this amount, $2.9 billion is for guaranteed business and industry loans and $20 million is for rural business enterprise grants. 

·        $1.38 billion in budget authority for loans and grants for water and waster disposal facilities to support $3.78 billion in loans and grants for water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas.  Of this amount, $2.8 billion is for direct loans and $968 million for grants.

·        $2.5 billion for distance learning, telemedicine and broadband program

Education

·        $100 million for construction of schools that educate “federally-connected students for have federally-owned land.”  Impact Aid disburses payments to local school jurisdictions that are “financially burdened by federal activities.”