Kamala Harris’ campaign is announcing a series of policy proposals intended to help rural Americans. Running mate Tim Walz will formally unveil the details during a campaign event at a farm in Lawrence County, Pa.
Harris campaign officials say her platform focuses largely on combatting farm consolidation and other barriers hindering smaller farmers. The vice president plans to improve credit access for beginning farmers and make it easier for them to receive USDA farm ownership and operating loans. She also intends to expand training and technical assistance programs, including those targeting military veterans and young farmers.
If elected, Harris says she would expand farmland protection programs, including working farm easements that prevent farmland from being lost to non-agricultural buyers. She also vows to “double down” on voluntary partnerships with farmers to generate new income streams through climates smart agriculture strategies and other initiatives.
Harris intends to push for passage of the Agricultural Right to Repair Act. That legislation would require manufacturers of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment to share documents, parts, software and tools with owners and independent repair shops.
The vice president says she will direct a USDA study on crop insurance programs to increase protection against more threats and possibly cover more crops. She plans to work with Congress to pass legislation increasing antitrust enforcement in agriculture. As part of this effort to boost competition, Harris plans to announce further incentives to increase production among new suppliers, small farms, growers and processors.
Harris is also using the announcement to take a swipe at Donald Trump’s tariffs during his term in office. According to her, the resulting trade war was “devastating” to farmers and rural communities. She plans to provide more technical assistance that she says will help small and mid-sized operations gain more opportunities to sell their products.
Shan Sebastian of RuralOrganzing says the Harris plan demonstrates both a deep understanding of and a solid commitment to rural Americans. He “wholeheartedly” welcomes the Harris/Walz announcement.
“Harris and Walz are showing rural voters that their concerns have been heard,” Sebastian says. “They are also showing how life can improve when elected officials deal with real issues instead of just trying to divide us. This really is the plan we’ve been waiting for and we look forward to making it a reality.”
Donald Trump campaign officials have yet to comment on the new Harris proposals.
Other rural initiatives announced
Harris says she will add 10,000 new health care professionals to address the current rural healthcare crisis. According to her, this will expand telemedicine and cut the number of “ambulance deserts” in half.
She plans to expand the child tax credit for families with newborns up to $6,000. She is also proposing a plan to construct three million new housing units and provide up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers. Additionally, Harris plans to increase the small business tax deduction for startup business to $50,000.
Campaign counting on Walz to reach rural America
Expect to hear more from Walz on issues impacting rural America. Campaign officials indicate they plan to highlight his rural roots and experience. The Minnesota governor says he and Harris know that rural work is tough even under the best of conditions. He contends rural Americans deserve the campaign’s full support to ensure they can find opportunities in their hometowns.
“Now, recently, there’s been a lot of talk of outsiders coming into rural communities, stealing jobs away, and making life worse for the people living there,” Walz says. “Those outsiders’ names are Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
That’s a message the campaign will likely continue to hammer home in the remaining weeks before Election Day. On Tuesday, Walz is participating in a series of rural radio interviews. He plans to discuss the new proposals in depth, highlighting his own rural background. Unsurprisingly, those radio interviews will be in swing states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
The Harris team is also launching a series of radio ads voiced by Walz airing on 535 stations across Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina. Campaign officials say the ads will reach more than 2.15 million voters in those states who live outside major metropolitan areas.
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