The RCAP national office has ridden a growing wave of gaining the attention of the Obama administration since the week before the president’s State of the Union address.
RCAP first spearheaded an effort through the writing of a letter [1]that 27 other rural groups signed on to. The letter asked President Obama to mention specific rural initiatives at the Congressional level in his address. While the president did not do this, the letter and RCAP got some visibility when four outlets – blogs and news services – mentioned RCAP and this initiative.
The national office then followed up on the letter and speech by participating in the White House’s “office hours” a few days after the speech in which many of Obama’s aides took questions from the public on specific issues. RCAP staff, other rural groups, and concerned citizens engaged in a Twitter conversation [2] on Jan. 27 with Doug McKalip, the administration’s Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs.
In the meantime, the RCAP national office had requested an in-person meeting with Mr. McKalip, which he granted. Staff met with him in an office adjacent to the White House on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Mr. McKalip was very receptive to the staff and the introduction to RCAP and its mission. He is a former USDA staffer, so he is familiar with one of RCAP’s funders and the way that agency addresses water and wastewater issues.
After the staff provided an introduction to RCAP, its history and the services it provides, the conversation turned to the focus on rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure that President Obama had in his State of the Union address. RCAP staff stressed with Mr. McKalip the importance of including rural infrastructure in any proposals the administration puts forth and highlighted the need to include water and wastewater in the discussion with other types of infrastructure—roads, rail, bridges, broadband, etc.
Mr. McKalip asked for RCAP’s thoughts on the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization, and staff shared their ideas about how the Rural Development (RD) Title of the bill integrates with President Obama’s call for more infrastructure development in the State of the Union. The RD Title authorizes USDA’s water, wastewater, community facilities, and broadband programs, along with many other programs designed to improve the quality of life in rural communities through investments in vital infrastructure. During consideration of the Farm Bill, Congress and the administration will have an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of USDA-RD’s programs and consider changes to strengthen and improve them to maximize their impact on rural communities.
RCAP has developed a proposal to make the Community Facilities (CF) program more efficient by authorizing a set-aside to fund technical assistance for CF program borrowers. Those funds would allow technical assistance providers to assist communities with projects to build courthouses, medical facilities, fire stations, and other facilities that are essential to the health, safety, and prosperity of small town residents. These types of infrastructure investments provide the critical foundation necessary to support thriving local economies, and fit nicely within the president’s stated goal of repairing America’s infrastructure.
Mr. McKalip gave RCAP staff suggestions on some connections to make with other federal agencies on some initiatives related to its mission as well as a heads up on some issues that will come to the forefront in the water sector in the coming months. In these ways, the staff felt the administration is receptive to working with RCAP and considering the issues it is raising.
The meeting concluded with the affirmation from Mr. McKalip that the administration is serious about “nation building” – President Obama’s proposal of taking a large portion of the savings from fighting the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan (the ending of which had been announced just the day before the meeting) and putting that money toward rebuilding the entities that undergird the country’s economy. In other words, the Obama administration is committed to using funds right here at home.
All in all, the meeting with Mr. McKalip was a major step for RCAP in establishing a good relationship with the Obama administration.