WASHINGTON, March 22, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today a 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September 2021, providing an estimated $3.5 billion to households experiencing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is made possible by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which invests federal resources to reduce hunger across the country, strengthen the food supply chain, invest in rural America, and provide long awaited support to underserved, socially disadvantaged communities.

The 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits will provide about $28 more per person, per month, or more than $100 more per month for a household of four, in additional SNAP benefits.

“We cannot sit by and watch food insecurity grow in the United States,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The American Rescue Plan brings help to those hurting the most due to the pandemic. It increases SNAP benefits so households can afford to put food on the table. It invests in working people and small towns and small businesses to get the economy back on track. And it makes the most meaningful investments in generations to reduce poverty.”

Additional facts on nutrition assistance in the American Rescue Plan can be found here.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

WASHINGTON, Mar. 17, 2021 — In January 2021, President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. The plan is driven by science, data, and public health to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 and to restore trust, accountability and a sense of common purpose in our response to the pandemic.

The National Strategy provides a roadmap to guide America out of the worst public health crisis in a century. It is organized around seven goals:

1. Restore trust with the American people.
2. Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.
3. Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards.
4. Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act.
5. Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.
6. Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.
7. Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats.

The plan calls on all parts of the federal government to contribute its resources—facilities, personnel, and expertise—to contain the pandemic. Chief among the efforts is a whole-of-government response to stand up new federally supported community vaccination centers across the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to the President’s call to action. In addition to personnel, USDA is offering its facilities, cold chain infrastructure, public health experts, disaster response specialists, and footprint in rural areas and Tribal communities across the country. Here are the some of the ways USDA is working alongside our federal partners to contain the pandemic and get our economy back on track.

Programmatic Announcements

• Mar. 14-17: A P-EBT school plan was approved for Hawaii. In total, for the 2020-2021 school year, USDA has provided $11.2 billion in P-EBT benefits to 12.7 million children in 26 states and territories. For a full list of approved states, please see the Food and Nutrition Service website.
• Mar. 12: The Office of Food Safety, in cooperation with the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) released several COVID-19 resources: The Food Safety COVID Tip Card Series, Food Safety During Alternate Meal Services fact sheet, and Keeping School Meals Safe at Home infographic. These resources are available on the ICN website and on the Food and Nutrition Service website.
• Mar. 12: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is approving a modification of Minnesota’s COVID-19 adjustment, which allows SNAP Outreach partners serve as authorized representatives in order to complete applications over the phone for clients who need assistance. Minnesota has requested to update the list of community partners approved under the adjustment. FNS is approving the modification for March 1-June 30, 2021.
• Mar. 11: As of this week, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has approved 49 States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $2,520,231,274 for the month of March 2021. State agencies and Territories submit their Emergency Allotments Extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
• Mar. 10: Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Congressional Passage of the American Rescue Plan Act.
• Mar. 9: USDA Extends Free Meals to Children through Summer 2021 Due to Pandemic. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service announced the nationwide extension of several waivers that allow all children to continue to receive nutritious meals this summer when schools are out of session, through Sept. 30, 2021.
• Mar. 8-13: P-EBT school plans were approved for Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
• Mar. 4: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved 33 States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $1,695,651,929 for the month of March 2021. State agencies and Territories submit their Emergency Allotments Extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
• Mar. 1-7: P-EBT school plans were approved for Florida and Virginia. In addition, P-EBT child care plans were approved for Massachusetts and Indiana.
• Mar. 1: A Texas A&M AgriLife-led research project funded through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is investigating the SARS-CoV-2 impact on meat processing by assessing the risks in a systematic farm-to-plate model. The goal is to maximize safety and minimize viral exposure to meat production workforce employees, and to everyone who buys and consumes meat. This research is part of NIFA’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Research investments to help find critical solutions to issues facing our nation during the pandemic. More information about how USDA is ensuring meat processing safety during the pandemic is available on NIFA’s website.
• Feb. 25: Food Lion plans to extend SNAP online purchasing to eight additional states—Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia—beginning Feb. 25. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has been working to expand access to online purchasing for SNAP participants. The full list of states and retailers participating in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot is available on the FNS website.
• Feb. 24: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved five states for SNAP emergency allotments totaling $430,994,867 for the month of March 2021. State and territorial agencies submit their emergency allotment extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval, as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
• Feb. 23: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service released $400 million in additional funding to states to support The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), including $73.3 million in administrative funds and $326.7 million to purchase food through the Agricultural Marketing Service.
• Feb. 23: Education Department Amplifies Expansion of SNAP Benefits to Help Students Pursuing Postsecondary Education During Pandemic. In accordance with President Biden’s January 22nd Executive Order on extending economic relief during the pandemic, USDA worked with the Department of Education to increase awareness of newly expanded SNAP eligibility guidelines for students.
• Feb. 22-28: P-EBT school plans were approved for Washington, Connecticut, Arizona, and Kentucky. In addition, a P-EBT child care plan was approved for Arizona.
• Feb. 18: COVID-19 Update: USDA, FDA Underscore Current Epidemiologic and Scientific Information Indicating No Transmission of COVID-19 Through Food or Food Packaging.
• Feb. 17: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved 47 states and territories for emergency allotments in SNAP, totaling $2,033,734,872 for the month of February 2021. FNS also approved one state for emergency allotments totaling $55,595,754 for the month of March 2021.
• Feb. 17: USDA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan
• Feb. 16: Biden Administration Announces Another Foreclosure Moratorium and Mortgage Forbearance Deadline Extension That Will Bring Relief to Rural Residents: USDA extended the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums on USDA Single Family Housing Direct and Guaranteed loans through June 30, 2021 due to an almost unprecedented housing affordability crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Feb. 15-21: A P-EBT school was approved for Delaware.
• Feb. 8- 14: P-EBT school plans were approved for Minnesota and Wisconsin.
• Feb. 1-7: P-EBT school plans were approved for North Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan, and South Carolina.
• Feb. 1: Biden Administration Halts Residential Evictions in USDA Multifamily Housing Communities in Accordance with CDC Guidance: USDA extended the eviction and foreclosure moratorium to affected multifamily housing residents through March 31, 2021, providing relief to the tens-of-thousands of Americans who rely on USDA-supported multifamily housing communities.
• Jan. 27: USDA Temporarily Suspends Debt Collections, Foreclosures and Other Activities on Farm Loans for Several Thousand Distressed Borrowers Due to Coronavirus: USDA temporarily suspended past-due debt collections, foreclosures, non-judicial foreclosures, debt offsets or wage garnishments, and referring foreclosures to the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
• Jan. 25-31: Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) school plans were approved for Tennessee and New Mexico.
• Jan. 22: Biden Administration Expands P-EBT to Benefit Millions of Low-Income and Food Insecure Children During Pandemic: USDA is increasing the Pandemic-EBT benefit by approximately 15%, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school closures.

Personnel Deployments

445 Personnel Currently Deployed (Mar. 17, 2021)

• Since the start of the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has deployed 311 personnel. Currently, 220 APHIS personnel remain active, consisting of:
  • 34 employees to support FEMA with planning and logistics;
  • 92 employees to Nevada, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Delaware to administer vaccinations;
  • 8 Safety Officers at a variety of rapid points of distribution including mobile teams and pop-up clinics;
  • 1 employee supporting FEMA Region VI with field operations;
  • 11 employees to Dallas;
  • 9 employees to Chicago;
  • 22 employees to Rhode Island and Wisconsin to prepare the vaccine for those administering vaccines; and
  • 19 intake registrars and 24 floor managers in Oregon.
• The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) have dispatched 32 veterinarians to assist with vaccination efforts in Nevada, Maryland, and Oklahoma.
• The USDA Forest Service has deployed 186 Incident Management Team personnel and they are currently assigned to the National COVID Vaccine Campaign. Their work includes staffing vaccination centers, providing logistical support, and planning at regional/state levels with FEMA and states.
• One (1) member of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), one (1) member of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS), one (1) member of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), and four (4) U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers detailed to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are assisting with logistical support for the vaccination campaign.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) seeks comments on the development, coordination, and implementation of a food purchase and distribution program intended to provide additional aid to nonprofits serving Americans in need of nutrition assistance.

If implemented, the program will serve as a successor to the temporary food box purchase program created in April 2020 in response to the rapidly developing crisis within the food supply chain and increased joblessness due to COVID-19. While the food box effort served some communities well, it faced challenges in others.

Comments can be submitted through midnight ET on March 31, 2021, via online portal or by email to AMSCOVIDStimulus@usda.gov. We welcome feedback from all interested parties, and we appreciate early response. Additional information is available on the AMS website.

In addition, AMS will host a listening session to provide groups and individuals an opportunity to share their views on how USDA can best serve people in need of food assistance as well as the industry through this program. All interested stakeholders are invited to attend. Stakeholders are also invited to register to provide oral comments during the session.

Listening Session Information:

The listening session will be conducted via webinar using ZOOM.

Date and Time: 

March 22, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET

Registration: 

Registration will remain open until the start of the event, or until the session is full. However, you must register by midnight ET on March 17, 2021, to provide oral comments during the listening session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Registrants who request to speak will be contacted by a staff member and must participate in a practice session to test audio requirements. Speakers will be introduced by a moderator; and speaking time is no more than three minutes.

AMS will make the agenda for the session available on the website by March 19, 2021.

Contact:

Questions regarding the listening session can be directed to AMSCOVIDStimulus@usda.gov. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

AMS encourages comments from smaller businesses, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged producers, veteran producers, and underserved communities, and/or organizations representing these entities. AMS expects commenters writing or speaking on behalf of these entities to engage and involve them in planning comments.

Background:

Sec. 751 of the COVID Stimulus Package, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, provides no less than $1.5B to purchase food and agricultural products, including seafood, fresh produce, dairy, and meat products, to distribute to individuals in need, including through delivery to nonprofit organizations that can receive, store, and distribute food items, and for grants and loans to small or midsized food processors or distributors, seafood processing facilities and processing vessels, farmers markets, producers, or other organizations to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against COVID–19.

DENVER, CO, March 16, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced it has taken action against 23 Missouri and Illinois retailers suspected of violating USDA rules for accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs that leverage American agricultural abundance to ensure children and low-income individuals and families have nutritious food to eat. The majority of participating SNAP stores are compliant with FNS rules and regulations. Additionally, the rate of trafficking among stores, which is the exchange of SNAP benefits for U.S. currency or other things of value, is about 1.6%.

However, today, FNS is announcing it has notified 23 retailers in Missouri and Illinois that they have violated SNAP regulations and is initiating action to revoke the authorization for these retailers to accept SNAP benefits. Twenty-one stores are charged with trafficking, and two stores are charged with selling ineligible items, which could lead to a six-month disqualification if FNS findings are upheld. After all due process has been completed, FNS will provide a follow up release with additional and updated information, including the names of retailers disqualified from the program.

USDA monitors SNAP purchases at retail food stores suspected of violating program rules and regulations, including trafficking and allowing the purchase of ineligible items. After concluding positive investigations, USDA takes administrative action to ensure store owners who violate SNAP rules and regulations can no longer participate in the program.

“While most retailers comply with federal rules and regulations, USDA will not tolerate any retailer abusing this vital program that helps millions of Americans put food on the table,” said USDA Food and Nutrition Service Acting Administrator Cindy Long. “Today, we are taking appropriate action against these retailers, and we are confident this will deter other retailers from committing similar violations.”

Retailer fraud can be reported via the USDA hotline at (800) 424-9121, online or via email at SNAPRetailerComplaints@usda.gov

Background

All told, in Fiscal Year 2020, FNS implemented 2,192 administrative sanction actions against SNAP retailers. These actions stem from findings of program violations and include 1,144 retailers being permanently disqualified for trafficking.

USDA Deploys 472 Disaster, Public Health Specialists to Assist with Federal Response

WASHINGTON, Mar. 10, 2021 — In January 2021, President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. The plan is driven by science, data, and public health to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 and to restore trust, accountability and a sense of common purpose in our response to the pandemic.

The National Strategy provides a roadmap to guide America out of the worst public health crisis in a century. It is organized around seven goals:

1. Restore trust with the American people.
2. Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.
3. Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards.
4. Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act.
5. Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.
6. Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.
7. Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats.

The plan calls on all parts of the federal government to contribute its resources—facilities, personnel, and expertise—to contain the pandemic. Chief among the efforts is a whole-of-government response to stand up new federally supported community vaccination centers across the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to the President’s call to action. In addition to personnel, USDA is offering its facilities, cold chain infrastructure, public health experts, disaster response specialists, and footprint in rural areas and Tribal communities across the country. Here are the some of the ways USDA is working alongside our federal partners to contain the pandemic and get our economy back on track.

Programmatic Announcements

• Mar. 9: To date, for the 2020-2021 School Year, USDA has approved $10.1 billion to provide Pandemic EBT benefits to 11.5 million children in 22 states and territories. Most recently, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has approved a plan for children under 6 in Massachusetts.
• Mar. 9: USDA Extends Free Meals to Children through Summer 2021 Due to Pandemic USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service announced the nationwide extension of several waivers that allow all children to continue to receive nutritious meals this summer when schools are out of session, through Sept. 30, 2021.
• Mar. 4: As of this week, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has approved 33 States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $1,695,651,929 for the month of March 2021. State agencies and Territories submit their Emergency Allotments Extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
• Mar. 1: A Texas A&M AgriLife-led research project funded through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is investigating the SARS-CoV-2 impact on meat processing by assessing the risks in a systematic farm-to-plate model. The goal is to maximize safety and minimize viral exposure to meat production workforce employees, and to everyone who buys and consumes meat. This research is part of NIFA’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Research investments to help find critical solutions to issues facing our nation during the pandemic. More information about how USDA is ensuring meat processing safety during the pandemic is available on NIFA’s website.
• Feb. 25: Food Lion plans to extend SNAP online purchasing to eight additional states—Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia—beginning Feb. 25. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has been working to expand access to online purchasing for SNAP participants. The full list of states and retailers participating in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot is available on the FNS website.
• Feb. 24: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has approved five states for SNAP emergency allotments totaling $430,994,867 for the month of March 2021. State and territorial agencies submit their emergency allotment extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval, as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
• Feb. 23: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service released $400 million in additional funding to states to support The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), including $73.3 million in administrative funds and $326.7 million to purchase food through the Agricultural Marketing Service.
• Feb. 23: Education Department Amplifies Expansion of SNAP Benefits to Help Students Pursuing Postsecondary Education During Pandemic. In accordance with President Biden’s January 22nd Executive Order on extending economic relief during the pandemic, USDA worked with the Department of Education to increase awareness of newly expanded SNAP eligibility guidelines for students.
• Feb. 18: COVID-19 Update: USDA, FDA Underscore Current Epidemiologic and Scientific Information Indicating No Transmission of COVID-19 Through Food or Food Packaging.
• Feb. 17: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved 47 states and territories for emergency allotments in SNAP, totaling $2,033,734,872 for the month of February 2021. FNS also approved one state for emergency allotments totaling $55,595,754 for the month of March 2021.
• Feb. 17: USDA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan
• Feb. 16: Biden Administration Announces Another Foreclosure Moratorium and Mortgage Forbearance Deadline Extension That Will Bring Relief to Rural Residents: USDA extended the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums on USDA Single Family Housing Direct and Guaranteed loans through June 30, 2021 due to an almost unprecedented housing affordability crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Feb. 1: Biden Administration Halts Residential Evictions in USDA Multifamily Housing Communities in Accordance with CDC Guidance: USDA extended the eviction and foreclosure moratorium to affected multifamily housing residents through March 31, 2021, providing relief to the tens-of-thousands of Americans who rely on USDA-supported multifamily housing communities.
• Jan. 27: USDA Temporarily Suspends Debt Collections, Foreclosures and Other Activities on Farm Loans for Several Thousand Distressed Borrowers Due to Coronavirus: USDA temporarily suspended past-due debt collections, foreclosures, non-judicial foreclosures, debt offsets or wage garnishments, and referring foreclosures to the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
• Jan. 22: Biden Administration Expands P-EBT to Benefit Millions of Low-Income and Food Insecure Children During Pandemic: USDA is increasing the Pandemic-EBT benefit by approximately 15%, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school closures.

Personnel Deployments

472 Personnel Currently Deployed (Mar. 10, 2021)

• The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has deployed 223 employees across the country, including 120 employees to Nevada and Oklahoma, to support FEMA efforts and administer vaccinations at a variety of rapid points of distribution.
• The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) have dispatched 34 veterinarians to assist with vaccination efforts in Nevada, Maryland, and Oklahoma.
• The USDA Forest Service has deployed 210 Incident Management Team personnel and they are currently assigned to the National COVID Vaccine Campaign. Their work includes staffing vaccination centers, providing logistical support, and planning at regional/state levels with FEMA and states.
• One (1) member of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and four (4) U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers detailed to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are assisting with logistical support for the vaccination campaign.

WASHINGTON, Mar. 10, 2021 – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The legislation is a critical step in getting the U.S. economy back on track, getting children back to school, getting COVID-19 vaccinations to all Americans, and pulling millions out of poverty. Specifically, provisions within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will reduce hunger across the country, strengthen the food supply chain, invest in rural America, and provide long awaited support to underserved, socially disadvantaged farmers.

Getting Food on the Table

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many as 30 million adults and 12 million children may not always have access to nutritious food. The American Rescue Plan provides bold solutions that work toward the goal of ending food insecurity by providing:

• Access to the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program available for the duration of the health emergency, including through the summer, to allow families with children receiving school meals to purchase healthy food more easily during the pandemic.
• An extension to the 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for all participants through September 30, 2021, or about $27 per month per person, with $1.15 billion allocated for the cost of state administrative expenses.
• Investments in technological improvements to expand access for families to use their SNAP benefits to purchase groceries safely online.
• $880 million to deliver expanded access to more fruits and vegetables for moms and babies and investments in innovation to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
• $37 million for senior nutrition through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
• $1 billion in nutrition assistance for the territories.

Strengthening the Food Supply Chain

To respond to disruptions in the food supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan makes long-term investments to increase the resiliency of the food supply in the future:

• Increases food available for distribution through food banks, nonprofits, or restaurants to help feed families in need and at the same time supports farmers by purchasing their products.
• Provides grants and loans to reimburse or purchase personal protective equipment, test kits, and other measures to keep essential food workers safe.
• Invests in infrastructure and retooling support for food processors, farmers markets, food banks, local food systems, and producers to build resiliency in the food supply for the long term.
• Funds the monitoring of COVID-19 in animals and reduces overtime inspection fees paid by small meat and poultry processors, supporting livestock and animal health.

Supporting Farmers of Color

For generations, socially disadvantaged farmers have struggled to fully succeed due to systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt. This struggle is exacerbated by a disproportionate amount of COVID-19 infection rates, loss of property, hospitalizations, death, and economic hurt amongst socially disadvantaged groups. The American Rescue plan takes key steps in assisting marginalized communities through a different approach with:

• $4 billion toward debt relief for socially disadvantaged farmers to pay off burdensome debts that have prevented many farmers of color from making a living or taking advantage of opportunities to grow or explore value-added strategies.
• $1.01 billion in funding to USDA to create a racial equity commission and address longstanding discrimination across USDA by investing in land access, outreach, education, assistance overcoming barriers to access to USDA programs, business development, and more.

Restoring Rural America

COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on Rural America. Families have lost their homes, students have resulted to unconventional solutions to access schoolwork online, the need for food has been at an all-time high, and access to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations have been limited. The American Rescue Plan implements funding that invests in the people of Rural America:

• $500 million in Community Facility Program funds to help rural hospitals and local communities broaden access to COVID-19 vaccines & food assistance.
• $100 million through September 2022 in rental assistance for low-income and elderly borrowers.
• $39 million through September 2023 to help refinance direct loans under the Single-Family Housing Loan Program and the Single-Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants.

In addition to programs facilitated by USDA, the American Rescue Plan provides significant investments into rural communities by expanding internet connectivity and establishing a homeowner assistance fund to assist struggling homeowners with mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, utilities and other housing related costs.