FOREWORD Several portions of the Rural Development Act of 1972 are at the brink of implementation. An appropriation has been signed by President Nixon, and administrative regulations for a number of the initiatives of the act have been printed in the Federal Register. In order that potential users of the act will have a clear understanding of where we stand, more than a year after the enactment of the law, the Subcommittee on Rural Development has provided this document. The subcommittee wishes to express its thanks for the fine cooperation it has received in putting this document together from Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, William Erwin, and his staff at the Rural Development Service; Senator Lee Metcalf and the General Accounting Office; the Congressional Research Service; the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and the Soil Conservation Service. DICK CLARK, Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Rural Development. CONTENTS Foreword.... The Rural Development Act of 1972 after one year-progress and problems_ Funding levels for fiscal 1974- Coordinating rural development programs.. Congressional versus administrative policy Page III 1 2 5 The Curtis amendment- Leadership in Washington Response of Federal departments and agencies Coordination in the regions Coordination at the State level The economic development administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission.. Goals for rural development Summary.. How the Rural Development Act will work. Farmers Home Administration-- Soil Conservation Service--- Extension Service and Cooperative State Research Service. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service... Title IV.... Long-term effects on American agriculture- Letter sent to all Governors by Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz...-- New initiatives of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Rural development evaluative reporting.. Regulations to implement portions of the Rural Development Act of 1972. The expectations of Congress Index of Titles and Sections: Public Law 92-419_. Rural Development Act of 1972---- Implementation progress chart opposite page.. 10 11 12 13 15 19 20 20 22 24 24 25 26 35 37 39 39 40 40 41 42 43 45 45 53 133 156 157 176 THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1972 AFTER ONE YEAR-PROGRESS AND PROBLEMS A report prepared for the Subcommittee on Rural Development of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of the United States Senate: By Walter W. Wilcox, Morton J. Schussheim, John A. Mitrisin, Congressional Research Service Throughout the history of the United States, numerous public policies and programs have been directed toward increasing the growth and development of rural areas. A small rural development program was inaugurated in the 1950's during the Eisenhower administration. In 1961 after many years of congressional debate, an Area Redevelopment Act was passed by the Congress and approved by the President. This act, to be administered by the Department of Commerce, provided for loans, grants, and other financial assistance for areas characterized by substantial and persistent underemployment. Many of these areas were rural. In the Department of Agriculture, during the same 12-month period, a rural areas development program was established. It assisted State and local agencies in responding to the opportunities offered citizens in rural areas by the Area Redevelopment Act. It also stimulated agencies within the Department of Agriculture to become more active in aiding local groups and agencies of government to take steps that would expand job opportunities and incomes in rural areas. Legislation in the 1960's expanded the "farm" housing program of the Farmers Home Administration into a "rural" housing program and gave this Government farm credit agency authority to make loans and grants for water distribution and sewage disposal systems to serve rural areas. Other new laws and amendments in the 1960's expanded the Area Redevelopment Act into the Economic Development and Accelerated. Public Works Act which authorized Regional Development Commissions. New laws also gave the Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Environmental Protection Agency broadened authorities for dealing with problems in the fields of education, skill training, housing, health, pollution, and underemployment, all vital to rural development. Rural Area Development Committees were organized in all counties. Farmers Home Administration personnel in the Department of Agriculture assumed the leadership of these committees including representatives of the major agencies in the Department plus State and local officials in the Kennedy-Johnson administrations. The leadership of these committees was transferred to the extension service under the Nixon Administration. Dissatisfied with the slow rate of progress in solving rural development problems, congressional leaders added a section to the Agricultural Act of 1970 which stated: The Congress commits itself to a sound balance between rural and urban America. The Congress considers this balance so essential to peace, prosperity, and welfare of all our citizens that highest priority must be given to the revitalization and development of rural areas. |