Wednesday, January 28 at 2:00 pm EST

Mr. Matt McKenna, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture on Strategic Partnerships, continues the discussion in our Infrastructure 101 series of webinars about the President’s Build America Investment Initiative, focusing on opportunities for infrastructure investments in rural America.

USDA currently manages a portfolio of over $200 billion of rural economic development loans. Their programs include utilities, housing, renewable energy, community facilities, business and industry and other local investments. USDA has identified a barrier to private investment in these programs: the small scale and size of most of their loans. They are working to bring these programs to scale by bundling these assets to attract third-party investments.

In addition, USDA has formed the Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative, whose sole mission is to partner both inside and outside of government to attract incremental financial resources to rural America. 

In this webinar, the final of three leading up to the SelectUSA Summit, Mr. McKenna will discuss USDA’s programs and this new initiative, and then take part in a Q&A session to help you understand how USDA can serve as another resource for supporting infrastructure investment.

Information from the two previous webinars can be found on our Infrastructure 101 Webinar Series page.

On Friday, the Obama Administration announced new steps that federal agencies are taking to bring private sector capital and expertise to bear on improving our nation’s roads, bridges, and broadband networks

First, the Administration is launching a new Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center at the Environmental Protection Agency and highlighting the progress of the Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative at the Department of Agriculture. These efforts will help local and state governments access federal loan and grant programs to get more projects off the ground.

The Administration is also announcing a new set of infrastructure tax proposals that will level the playing field for projects that combine public and private investment so that local and state governments can more easily work with the private sector to advance the public interest. 

In addition, the Administration is advancing major highway and port projects through the Transportation Investment Center at the Department of Transportation, working with local and state governments to improve project planning, promoting strong labor practices and workforce development, and attracting investors for U.S. projects from around the world through SelectUSA.