Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama told an audience in rural Iowa that the U.S. economy will come back “stronger than before” after the worst recession in decades, driven by small businesses and entrepreneurs.
“That comeback isn’t going to be driven by Washington, it is going to be driven by folks here in Iowa,” Obama said in opening a forum on the rural economy at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta.
The federal government can help if lawmakers “put aside the politics of the short-term” and spend on programs such as education and expanded Internet access that will pay dividends down the road, he said.
On the second of three days traveling through rural areas of the Midwest, Obama is outlining initiatives that the administration says will bolster the economy in the farming regions outside the nation’s big cities.
Among them are expanded loan programs run by the Small Business Administration through a $1 billion investment fund aimed at luring private capital, job search and training services, and increased access to health care and technology. Money will come from existing programs and funding, according to a White House fact sheet.
The administration also is announcing that the Navy and the Departments of Agriculture and Energy will invest as much as $510 million in a program aimed at producing biofuels for aircraft and ships. The plan, part of the administration’s broader energy strategy, will benefit rural areas, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Rural Boost
Vilsack said unemployment is historically higher in rural communities. The administration commitment “isn’t necessarily at the expense of other parts of the country, but this is a renewed interest in making sure all parts of the country become prosperous,” Vilsack said yesterday on a conference call.
As he did yesterday, Obama blamed Congress for failing to act on measures intended to boost growth and job creation.
“We could do even more if Congress is willing to get into the game,” he said. Without directly criticizing Republicans who control the House of Representatives, Obama said economic initiatives have been stalled by the “refusal of a faction of Congress to put country ahead of party.”
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