Harris/Walz Unveils Their Plans for Rural Communities Across the United States; AZ LD One Democratic Candidates React

The Harris/Walz Campaign has released its plan to expand aid to America’s Rural Communities that started during the Biden/Harris Administration.

While many of the elements of the assistance to Rural Communities are already part of the Harris/Walz Opportunity Economy and New Way Forward agenda, items that will especially help those regions are:

• “Adding 10,000 health care professionals, expanding telemedicine, and cutting the number of ambulance deserts in half.”
• “Invest in the future of American agriculture by boosting access to credit, land, and markets, building new markets and streams of income for small- and mid-sized farmers and producers, and supporting the rise of the next generation of American farmers and ranchers.”

Specific program proposals in these areas include:

• “Expanding Scholarships, Loan Forgiveness, and Other Pipeline Programs for Doctors and Nurses Who Will Provide Health Care in Rural and Tribal Areas.”
• “Providing a Major Grant Program To Train and Fund Rural Community Health Workers.”
• “Permanently extend Medicare coverage of telemedicine benefits.”
• “Double federal funding for telehealth equipment and technologies.”
• “Expanding EMTs and Paramedics in Rural Areas.”
• “Increasing Funding and Support for Volunteer EMS Programs.”
• “Keeping Rural Hospital Doors Open To Ensure Access to Emergency Services.”
• “Supporting Veterinary Care in Rural Areas.”
• “Keeping Rural Schools Open and Thriving.”
• “Providing Rural and Tribal Families with Reliable, Low-Cost Internet Access.”
• “Provide Funding and Support to Local Communities, Tailored to Address Local Needs.”
• “Making it Easier for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers to Get Started by improving access to credit for beginning farmers—including by reducing barriers to receive USDA’s farm ownership and operating loans—and supporting training and technical assistance including for military veterans and young farmers.”
• “Doubling Down on Partnerships with Farmers and Producers to Build New Markets and Streams of Incomes.”
• “Ensuring America’s Farmers Have the Right to Repair Their Equipment.”
• “Ensuring Crop Insurance Works for All Farmers and Ranchers.”
• “Growing Opportunities and Small and Mid-Size Farms and Small Businesses in Rural and Tribal Communities to Sell to Customers Around the Globe.”

Governor Walz, at a campaign stop in Rural Pennsylvania, unveiled what a Harris/Walz Administration would do for rural communities.

The Democratic Candidates running to win the State House and Senate seats in Arizona’s largely Rural Legislative District One (Marcia Smith, Mike Fogel, and Jay Ruby)issued a joint response to the Harris/Walz plans that will greatly benefit the rural regions of the Grand Canyon state, writing:

“We applaud Vice President Harris’ and Governor Walz’s plan for rural communities. Their plan will increase access to affordable and high-quality health care in rural communities by expanding scholarships, loan forgiveness, and other pipeline programs for health care providers. In Yavapai County, there is only one primary care physician for every 1,730 residents, which is higher than State and national ratios. This shortage of practitioners results in reduced access to care, increased wait times, and higher medical costs. During our campaign, we have encountered many residents who have been negatively impacted by this physician shortage. Recruiting an additional 40 primary care providers to Yavapai County would reduce this ratio to the national average. Their plan will also lower the costs of buying and renting a home in rural America by sparking the construction of new homes, cutting red tape, and providing down payment assistance, all of which will help in recruiting health care providers to our District. They have also committed to the permanent extension of Medicare coverage of telemedicine benefits and the doubling of federal funding for telehealth equipment and technologies, which are key components to improved access to healthcare in our District.”

“Another priority of our campaigns is funding for quality public education. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will increase funding for programs that prepare and train teachers in rural and tribal areas. Public education in Arizona has been undermined by the recent expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. We support ESAs for the specific use cases for which they were originally intended, which was to give students with special needs the resources they need for their education. Even though universal ESAs are, on the surface, equitable, in practice they have increased the disparities in the education that students receive. Studies have shown most of the $333 million for universal expansion went to wealthy families, which just exacerbates the inequities in education funding. Arizona is not saving money by subsidizing wealthy families who can afford to send their children to private schools. This money could have been put to better use increasing teacher salaries and addressing the disparities in public education funding. Taking money out of public school education, which has a high level of fixed costs, will leave us worse off in the future. Even if ESA funds are used to pay for an item that may have an educational benefit, like a piano or Lego sets, we can’t keep draining funds from public education to fund items that benefit a single family. Like Arizona’s rural water policy, which lets large farming corporations pull water from existing aquifers without limit, it is not sustainable and sooner rather than later the public school infrastructure will cave.”