Latest Tom Vilsack News
Editorial Roundup: Minnesota
Minneapolis Star Tribune. September 26, 2023. Editorial: GOP created — and must clean up — shutdown mess Even Speaker Kevin McCarthy acknowledges the threats from far-right Republican representatives. Programs in Minnesota are at risk. At first...
Feds spread $1 billion for tree plantings among US cities to reduce extreme heat and benefit health
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hundreds of communities around the country will share more than $1 billion in federal money to help them plant and maintain trees under a federal program that is intended to reduce extreme heat, benefit health and improve access to nature. U.S. Department of...
USDA designates July flooding a disaster in Vermont, making farmers eligible for emergency loans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Vermont a natural disaster area from the catastrophic July flooding, making farms eligible for emergency federal loans, Republican Gov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday. It's the second USDA disaster declaration for Vermont this summer....
Founding father Gen. Anthony Wayne's legacy is getting a second look at Ohio's Wayne National Forest
NELSONVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Some 40 Native American tribes have ancestral ties to Wayne National Forest, a quarter-million acres spread across portions of Appalachian southeastern Ohio. Their citizens have never stopped helping the U.S. Forest Service manage this expanse of forested hills, hollows,...
Broadband subsidy program that millions use will expire next year if Congress doesn’t act
LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the features that President Joe Biden cited in his plan to bring internet to every home and business in the United States by 2030 was affordability. But an important federal program established to keep broadband costs down for low-income households is set to expire next...
Biden administration spending $150M to help small forest owners benefit from selling carbon credits
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday it will spend $150 million to help owners of small parcels of forestland partner with companies willing to pay them for carbon offsets and other environmental credits. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the grant...
Biden administration announces more new funding for rural broadband infrastructure
The Biden administration on Monday continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and loans to build more broadband infrastructure in the rural U.S. “With this investment, we’re getting funding to communities in every corner of the...
Biden goes west to talk about his administration's efforts to combat climate change
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration's efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with soaring temperatures, the White House said Monday. Biden...
Editorial Roundup: Iowa
Des Moines Register. July 23, 2023. Editorial: Erase part of Steve King’s bigoted legacy and publish multilingual voter forms Voting is a foundational part of citizenship and democracy, not a bookkeeping matter. Iowa should repeal a misguided law that’s been used...
U.S. Department of Agriculture to invest $300 million in monitoring agricultural emissions
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday that his department will invest $300 million to improve the measurement and reporting of planet-warming emissions by the country's agriculture and forestry sectors. The investment — which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act,...
