< Back to Front Page Text size – +

White House unveils rural tour

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor June 30, 2009 06:14 PM

The White House announced late this afternoon that top officials will go on the road this summer -- not to big cities, but to often-neglected rural areas to discuss how communities, states, and the federal government can work together to strengthen rural America.

Vice President Joe Biden, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will kick off the Rural Tour on Wednesday to visit Wattsburg, Pa., to discuss the issue of rural broadband.

“A healthy American economy depends on a prosperous rural America,” President Obama said in a statement. “Rural America is vast and diverse, and different communities face different challenges and opportunities. That’s why we’re going out to hear directly from the people of rural America about their needs and concerns and what my Administration can do to support them.”

The other stops scheduled so far:

July 16, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Vilsack will travel to La Crosse, Wisc., to discuss rural economic development.

July 18, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Vilsack will travel to Ringgold, Va., to discuss green jobs and a new energy economy, with a focus on weatherization and carbon sequestration.

July 20, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and Vilsack will travel to St. John’s Parish, La., to discuss rural healthcare.

Aug. 12, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Chu, and Vilsack will travel to Bethel, Alaska, to discuss rural infrastructure, green jobs and a new energy economy, as well as climate change.

Aug. 16, Salazar and Vilsack will travel to Zanesville, Ohio, to discuss green jobs and a new energy economy, with a focus on renewable energies.

Aug. 17, Duncan and Vilsack will travel to Hamlet, N.C., to discuss rural education.

Sept. 28, Salazar and Vilsack will travel to Scottsbluff, Neb., to discuss production agriculture.

Sept. 30, Donovan and Vilsack will travel to Las Cruces, N.M., to discuss rural infrastructure.

  • CommentComment
  • EmailEmail
» Back to Front Page
.

the only thing this county needs in government is another clown
good luck America, god bless us all

Posted by bostonsha June 30, 09 07:43 PM
.

Go team. Maybe people will actually contact their reps in Congress?

Posted by bebop June 30, 09 09:54 PM
.

Las Cruces, NM rural? Riiiiight. Maybe compared to Boston or NYC. Seriously, if they really wanted to get rural in New Mexico, I can think of numerous other places to really get a taste of what rural life is like.

Posted by Kelley June 30, 09 10:09 PM
.

What about Copake, NY? No jobs, no infrastructure, no nothing. It's a ghost town.
And to boot, one Doctor and nothing else. Visit us Obabma!!!!

Posted by Ella July 1, 09 06:45 AM
.

The Neverending Campaign Tour

Posted by please July 1, 09 11:03 AM
.

More money spent that shouldn't be. The never ending spending administration.

Posted by Carolyn July 1, 09 12:59 PM
.

More money spent that shouldn't be. The never ending spending administration.

Posted by Carolyn July 1, 09 02:46 PM
.

I'm gay. What has our president done for me. The answer is NOTHING. I'm going back to sleep. Let rural America be da*ned. Let Barach Obama go with them.

Posted by Tom L July 2, 09 04:42 AM
add your comment *(If you put a URL in your comment, it must be relevant )
Required
Required (will not be published)

This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.

About Political Intelligence

Reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors about the Obama administration, the Massachusetts congressional delegation, and other national political happenings.
see all Globe blogs

News from the Washington Bureau

Declassification of secret documents to be delayed

WASHINGTON - President Obama will maintain a lid of secrecy on millions of pages of military and intelligence documents that were scheduled to be declassified by the end of the year, according to administration officials. (Globe Staff, 12:25 a.m.)

Tax break on profits again in jeopardy

An effort in Congress to eliminate a generous tax break for hedge fund managers, private-equity specialists, and venture capitalists, which could be taken up next week in the House Ways and Means Committee, is being met with resistance by opponents who say the move would weaken the economy. (Globe Staff, 11/26/09)

In N.E. governors’ races, GOP sees a chance to build on gains

Invigorated by state house victories earlier this month in Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans are turning their attention to governorships in New England, where they believe the retirement of four incumbents and a competitive race in Massachusetts has created wide-open opportunities. (Globe Correspondent, 11/25/09)

Senators voice optimism on public option

WASHINGTON - Buoyed by their weekend victory on a vote beginning the health care debate, several Senate Democrats expressed optimism yesterday they could find a way to keep a government-run insurance plan in the sweeping bill. (Globe Staff, 11/23/09)

Health overhaul narrowly advances

The Senate narrowly overcame the first of two critical hurdles to passing sweeping health care legislation last night, mustering the minimum of 60 votes required to begin debate on the bill and opening a volatile floor fight likely to last weeks. (Globe Staff 11/22/09)

Latinos, blacks take harder hit amid recession

Latinos and African-Americans in Massachusetts and across the country are facing high unemployment rates that could spiral to levels not seen in decades as the jobless economic recovery drags on, analysts and urban community advocates say. (Globe Staff, 11/21/09)

Some lawmakers push back Catholic church on health care bill

Representative Louise Slaughter has a consistent record advocating abortion rights. So the New York Democrat was stunned recently to receive, for the first time, a letter from a Catholic diocese in western New York, demanding that she explain her vote this month against a health care amendment prohibiting insurance companies from paying for abortions. (Globe Staff, 11/21/09)

Support wanes for curbs on credit-card interest rates

Efforts in Congress to cap credit-card interest rates are faltering because of opposition from Democrats and a lack of specific support from the White House, despite growing consumer outrage over a rush by banks to impose rates as high as 30 percent. (Globe Staff, 11/19/09)

Obama domestic agenda largely a one-party effort

Despite early pleas for bipartisanship, President Obama is forging ahead with his domestic agenda with a largely single-party strategy, unable to corral more than a handful of Republicans on a wide range of major legislation before Congress. (Globe Staff, 11/17/09)

Beirut attack victims’ families face new hurdle

On Veterans Day, Christine Devlin stood in the cold in Westwood for the unveiling of a new memorial to local soldiers lost overseas, including her son Michael, one of the 241 servicemen killed in the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983. (Globe Staff, 11/14/09)
archives