Ten states are set to benefit from USDA-backed funding of 16 projects aimed to bring rural communities jobs and long-term economic potential. On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the projects, which are being funded through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG).

Vilsack also didn’t shy away from questions on budget concerns and an expected slashing of USDA’s budget in an effort to cut deficit spending.

"The funding I am announcing today will help rural communities create jobs, support agricultural education, expand access to quality health care and support business development," said Vilsack. "As the President said in his State of the Union Address last week, these investments plant the seeds of progress for our country, and good-paying, private-sector jobs for the American people as we work to win the future."

For a list of the projects, scroll down.

Asked how many jobs each project might provide, Vilsack said “it’s hard to specifically designate the number of jobs per grant, or loan.”

Pointing to an industrial park project, Vilsack said the benefits will reach into the future. “They’ll be creating in the industrial park, for example, to install sewer lines, water lines, electric lines or whatever it might be. That, in turn, will allow for development of … buildings used by small manufacturing facilities.

“The point is not only (to provide) immediate jobs, today, but to build a foundation, the infrastructure, that will allow communities to attract business in the future.

“As we focus on new innovations … and manufacturing again in this country, building the infrastructure and strengthening communities is what will help attract small manufacturing concerns to rural America.

Another example: grants and loans to modernize and renovate an Illinois hospital.

“This will allow that hospital to stay in business and retain 1,614 and job and create 17 new positions. More importantly, strengthening the hospital will make it easier for local economic development officials to attract business and industry to that area because they know that workers who may be injured or family members who may need hospital care will be able to get it.”

In funding these and other USDA projects, Vilsack said Recovery Act resources are exhausted. “For the most part, (Recovery Act funds) have been obligated by USDA. We’re in the process of making sure projects are operating on a timely basis. Roughly 3,800 water and sewer projects, 1,400 community facility projects, and 700 business and industry loans are being financed through the Recovery Act.

“What we’re dealing with now are regular funding resources.”

The budget situation is “complicated,” said Vilsack. “It’s complicated by the fact that we still don’t have a 2011 budget. We’re working under a continuing resolution. There’s a lot of discussion (in Congress) about reducing the 2011 budget and the difficulties that will create for USDA and all other agencies is simply in managing, in a relatively short period of time in the remaining fiscal year, whatever the reductions are going to be.”

Consider a scenario where the “House proposes that USDA’s discretionary funding is reduced by, say, 15 percent. That may be something that would be more easily managed during the course of a 12-month fiscal year as opposed to managing it over six months. In effect, what you’re doing with a 15 percent cut is imposing a 30 percent cut, if you will, on the remaining part of the budget year.”

Unless Congress specifically delegates where those reductions are to take place, “you’ll have to take a look at how to best manage … in a way that maintains services important to folks in rural America to the extent you can. … Oftentimes, you’ll look at loan guarantees and what kind of fees will be charged to reduce the budget impact of those guarantees so you continue to allow for significant lending capacity.”

Funding for the newly announced projects “is contingent upon the recipient meeting the conditions of the loan or grant agreement,” according to a USDA press release. The agency is “investing more than $8.5 million to help rural communities. The loan funds will be leveraged by more than $80 million in private and public financing; while grant funds will be leveraged by more than $54 million in public/private funding.

The projects are:

Iowa

Illinois

Kansas

Minnesota

Missouri

North Dakota

Oklahoma

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee