By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

DANVILLE, Ind. — USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack hosted his sixth Rural Community Forum at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds last week.

Vilsack is one of several of President Barack Obama’s cabinet officials who has been dispatched to the Midwest to tell the public how funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) – otherwise known as federal stimulus money – is being spent.

Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu was in Fort Wayne, Ind. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have visited a variety of communities in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Vilsack said the purpose of this campaign is to reassure Americans that stimulus funding is having an impact on local communities.
“To rebuild and revitalize rural America, President Obama and I want those affected by decisions made in Washing to participate in the process of developing innovative solutions and charting a path for communities to participate and thrive in the new 21st century economy,” Vilsack explained.

He has also hosted Rural Community Forums in Brush, Colo., Portageville, Mo., Ludowici, Ga., Harrodsburg, Ky., and Geneseo, Ill.
While in the Hoosier State last week, Vilsack also met with FFA representatives at the National FFA Center in Indianapolis, Ind. Along with Rep. Baron Hill, Vilsack discussed Obama’s plans for the U.S. auto industry.

“President Obama is fully committed to supporting the American auto industry and auto workers, the backbone of our nation’s manufacturing base and the hardest-working and most innovative workers in the world,” Vilsack said. “USDA is working everyday to distribute resources across the nation, including funds from the (ARRA) to support our auto communities and workers as we begin to rebuild the American economy.”

He said that many of America’s workers make their home in rural America, and USDA is providing funds to build new facilities, expand broadband access, help provide new economic opportunities, and to assist families in modernizing or buying houses.

Among the ARRA funding projects is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Vilsack said most four-person households will receive an $80 increase in their monthly SNAP benefit.

Eligibility limits on jobless adults will be suspended in most areas. The USDA estimates that SNAP recipients in Indiana will receive more than $400 million in SNAP benefit increases.
To learn more about the ARRA, visit www.USDA.gov/Recover