Rural Utilities Service

Short description: USDA electrical, water, telecomm agency

"The Rural Broadband Association" redirects here. It is not to be confused with NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association.

Rural Utilities ServiceAgency overview

Headquarters| Washington, DC
Agency executive|

* Andrew Berke, Administrator[1]

Parent department| United States Department of Agriculture
Parent agency| USDA Rural Development
Website| rd.usda.gov/rural-utilities-service

The United States Rural Utilities Service (RUS) administers programs that provide infrastructure or infrastructure improvements to rural communities. These include water and waste treatment, electric power, and telecommunications services.[2] It is an operating unit of the USDA Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It was created in 1935 as the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), a New Deal agency promoting rural electrification.

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 Financial assistance
* 3 Rural Electrification Administration
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Overview

The RUS administers the following programs:

* Water and Environmental: provides financial assistance for drinking water, sanitary sewer, solid waste and storm drainage facilities in rural areas and communities with a population of 10,000 or less.[2]
* Electric Programs: help maintain, expand, upgrade and modernize the rural electric infrastructure. It also supports demand-side management, energy efficiency and conservation programs, and on- and off-grid renewable energy systems.[2]
* Telecommunications: helps deploy the rural telecommunications infrastructure.[2]

## Financial assistance

A total of 890 rural electric and 800 rural telecommunications utilities in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia have received financial assistance. Approximately 7,200 rural communities are served through financial assistance received from water and waste loans and grants.[3]

In 2023, RUS was in charge of the ReConnect Program; this Biden administration program is overseen by the Agriculture Department[4] to expand broadband Internet access to rural parts of America, including the Marshall Islands.

## Rural Electrification Administration

One of the posters designed by Lester Beall in the 1930s to promote the Rural Electrification Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Farmer watching a lineman at work in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin (c. 1936)

The RUS originated with the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), one of the agencies created under the New Deal in 1935 to promote rural electrification. The REA was created by executive order on May 11, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[5] Enacted the following year, the Rural Electrification Act provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve rural areas of the United States.

In the 1930s, the U.S. lagged behind Europe in providing electricity to rural areas. In 1934, less than 11% of U.S. farms had electricity. That same year, in France and Germany, nearly 90% of farms had electricity. Backed by the 1936 Rural Electrification Act the REA gave loans and other help to rural organizations setting up their own power systems and was one of the New Deal's most successful programs.[6] By 1937, hundreds of new municipal power utilities were created nationwide. In 1939, 288,000 households had their electricity provided by rural electric cooperatives. Most of these electric co-ops had applied for and received loans from REA. By 1942, nearly 50% of US farms had electricity, and by 1952 almost all US farms had electricity.[7]

In 1949, the REA became authorized to provide loans to rural telephone cooperatives.[8]

Under the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 the REA was absorbed by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).[9]

## See also

* Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant and Loan Program

## References

1. ↑ "Andrew Berke". U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/leadership/administrators/andrew-berke.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Rural Utilities Service". https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/agencies/rural-utilities-service.
3. ↑ "Rural Utilities Service". https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/rural-utilities-service.
4. ↑ "Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $700 Million to Connect People in Remote and Rural Areas to High-Speed Internet | USDA". https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2023/08/21/biden-harris-administration-announces-nearly-700-million-connect-people-remote-and-rural-areas-high.
5. ↑ "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Executive Order 7037 Establishing the Rural Electrification Administration, May 11, 1935". The American Presidency Project. University of California – Santa Barbara. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-7037-establishing-the-rural-electrification-administration.
6. ↑ McChesney, Paul; Podesta, John (2 January 2006). "Let There Be Wi-Fi". Washington Monthly. https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/januaryfebruary-2006/let-there-be-wi-fi.
7. ↑ FDR: The New Deal Years, 1933–1937, pages 491–92, by Kenneth S. Davis. Published by Random House, 1986
8. ↑ "History of Rural Telecommunications". https://www.ntca.org/ruraliscool/history-rural-telecommunications.
9. ↑ Laurence Malone (March 16, 2008). "Rural Electrification Administration". in Robert Whaples. EH.Net Encyclopedia. Economic History Association. https://eh.net/encyclopedia/rural-electrification-administration/. Retrieved July 31, 2016.

## External links

* Official website

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United States government agencies involved in environmental science

* Environmental Protection Agency
* Global Change Research Program
* National Aeronautics and Space Administration
* National Science Foundation
* Smithsonian Institution

Department of the Interior|

* Bureau of Indian Affairs
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Department of Commerce|

* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Department of Energy|

* Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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Department of Agriculture|

* Agricultural Research Service
* Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
* Farm Service Agency
* Food and Nutrition Service
* Foreign Agricultural Service
* Natural Resources Conservation Service (National Water and Climate Center)
* Rural Utilities Service
* Forest Service

Department of Homeland Security|

* Science and Technology Directorate
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Department of Health
and Human Services|

* Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
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Department of Defense|

* Air Force Research Laboratory
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Template:USDA agencies Template:New Deal

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Modernizing the Electrical grid

Proposals|

SuperSmart Grid
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Efficient energy use|

* Smart grid
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Other technologies/
concepts|

* HVDC bulk transmission
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Policies|

* Renewable energy policy
* Feed-in Tariff
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Related Issues|

* Energy security
* Climate change
* United States energy independence
* Peak oil
* Energy crisis
* Renewable energy commercialization
* Rural electrification

Categories
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