Investing in rural America would lift nation's economy

oday, fewer than 15 percent of U.S. businesses are located in rural areas and small towns. Bank loans for amounts less than $1 million, primarily to family-owned small businesses and farms, have dropped by nearly half since 2005. These are warning signs for the basic building-blocks of the economy which serve as the foundation of America’s economic stability. A long-term commitment from Congress and the administration is needed to reverse this trend.  he recently passed omnibus budget bill is providing key resources and tools to foster development of energy, telecommunications and other essential services in rural America, including $600 million for high-speed internet access in underserved regions.Already, there are examples of how these services are changing heartland economies. BOLT Fiber Optic Services, a subsidiary of Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, began providing broadband service in 2015 and the fiber network is directly responsible for new businesses creating hundreds of jobs. And similar stories are playing out across the nation. In 2002, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC began providing broadband in the southern Appalachian region of Georgia and North Carolina. Today, the co-op has linked regional hospitals to a common broadband network and helped facilitate e-connectivity at public schools and libraries across the region.Other sections of the omnibus bill fully fund low-interest government loans or enhance the efficiency of permitting for rural electric programs to improve grid reliability.These are positive steps. But there’s more work to do.