{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-usda-economic-development-investments-in-vermont-this-year-now-top-222-million", "Leahy: USDA Economic Development Investments In Vermont This Year Now Top $222 Million", "2017-12-14", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.14.17\n\t\t\t Leahy: USDA Economic Development Investments In Vermont This Year Now Top $222 Million \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenator\u00a0 Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Thursday that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) economic development investments in the Vermont now total more than $222 million during fiscal year 2017.\u00a0 Federal funds supported a broad range of activities in thirteen Vermont counties, including business development, housing construction and purchases, municipal investments in infrastructure and awards to academic institutions of higher education.\u00a0\u00a0 The funds were made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Rural Development (USDA-RD) an arm of USDA focused on helping rural communities thrive.\r\nLeahy is a leading member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees USDA and handles the Senate\u2019s work in writing Farm Bills, and he now also is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which annually appropriates funds for the USDA.\u00a0\r\nLeahy said:\u00a0 \u201cThese USDA investments are empowering local organizations and businesses to make our Vermont communities stronger.\u00a0 The diverse nature of Rural Development\u2019s programs mean that federal help can be pre-tailored to address distinct needs for each community. \u00a0As Congress begins writing a new Farm Bill in 2018, I\u2019ll be focused on making sure that USDA-RD continues to have resources like these to invest in Vermont.\u201d\r\nUSDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure programs through a national network of state and local offices. \u00a0These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers to improve the quality of life in rural areas. For 2017 USDA RD awarded more than $9 million in business loans and grants, assisted more than 400 Vermonters in purchasing homes, and invested $128 million in community facilities and infrastructure.\u00a0\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle: 202-224-3693\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-usda-economic-development-investments-in-vermont-this-year-now-top-222-million"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2552211992442608, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}