Improve Rural Education. Obama will provide incentives for talented individuals to enter the teaching profession, including increased pay for teachers who work in rural areas. He will also create a Rural Revitalization Program to attract and retain young people to rural America. The program will make grants available to four-year and community colleges, the extension services, non-profit organizations and primary and secondary schools to provide access for rural Americans to entrepreneurship education. He will increase research and educational funding for Land Grant colleges like Virginia Tech University and Virginia State University.
Increase Access To Health Care In Rural Areas. Obama is dedicated to improving health care in rural areas, where it too often lags behind health care in more densely populated parts of the country. As president, Obama will provide rural America with affordable quality health care and save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on their health care costs. He will increase access to health care in rural areas by investing in health information technology and TeleMedicine programs that make it possible for doctors to treat their patients in remote areas. He will work to ensure that rural health care providers, who often get less money from Medicare and Medicaid for the very same procedure performed in urban areas, have a more equitable Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement structure. And he will attract providers to rural America by creating a loan forgiveness program for doctors and nurses who work in underserved rural areas.
Improve Care for Rural Veterans. Veterans in rural areas have poorer health and less access to care. In many rural parts of the country, the nearest Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) medical facility is hundreds of miles away. Barack Obama will expand the number of Vet Centers so more veterans can access care more easily. As president, Obama will give the VA the tools and flexibility to contract with other providers in any remote area of the country in which the VA determines there is inadequate access to a VA medical center or in which it is impractical to build one. He will also strengthen the VA’s telemedicine infrastructure to expand the delivery of high quality health care to veterans residing in rural communities.
Invest in Rural Communities and Infrastructure. Obama will invest in rural communities by improving rural infrastructure, increasing the availability of high-speed internet access and cell phone service, and supporting rural small businesses. He will invest in the core infrastructure, roads, bridges, locks, dams, water systems, and essential air service that rural communities need. And he will ensure that rural Americans have access to a modern communications infrastructure.
Protect the Second Amendment. Obama believes that the constitution conveys an individual right to bear arms, not just a right of militias as some have argued. He respects the right of lawful gun owners to hunt, target shoot and use guns to protect their families. Obama will protect the rights of hunters, shooters, collectors and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns. Senator Obama is on record voting against allowing the federal government to confiscate guns.
Support Small Business. Small business creates most of the new jobs and self-employment opportunities in rural America. Obama will support entrepreneurship and spur job growth by establishing a small business and micro-enterprise initiative for rural America that will provide training and technical assistance for rural small business, and provide a 20 percent tax credit on up to $50,000 of investment in small owner-operated businesses.
Support Rural Farmers: Obama will support family farmers by implementing a $250,000 payment limitation so that we help family farmers — not large corporate agribusiness. Obama will close the loopholes that allow mega-farms to get around the limits by subdividing their operations into multiple paper corporations. He will also establish a new program to identify and train the next generation of farmers. And he will provide tax incentives to make it easier for new farmers to afford their first farm.
Combat the Scourge of Methamphetamine. The number of Americans who have tried methamphetamine (“meth”) is up an incredible 156 percent since 1996. This epidemic has hit rural communities particularly hard. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama fought for and passed legislation to increase penalties against meth manufacturers. In the U.S. Senate, Obama supported legislation which puts federal funds into the fight against methamphetamine and provides assistance to children affected by meth abuse. As president, Obama will cut off drug lab supplies by restricting global imports of precursor chemicals and expand family treatment programs where mothers and their children are treated together, as a whole family.
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