2020 Presidential Campaign Blog

2015 Iowa Democratic Wing Ding Photos, Clear Lake, Iowa, August 14, 2015 #WingDing @IowaWingDing

https://blog.4president.org/2016/2015/08/bernie-sanders-photos-iowa-democratic-wing-ding-dinner-clear-lake-iowa-august-14-2015-wingding.html

https://blog.4president.org/2016/2015/08/hillary-clinton-photos-iowa-democratic-wing-ding-dinner-clear-lake-iowa-august-14-2015-wingding.html

https://blog.4president.org/2016/2015/08/martin-omalley-photos-iowa-democratic-wing-ding-dinner-clear-lake-iowa-august-14-2015-wingding.html

https://blog.4president.org/2016/2015/08/lincoln-chafee-photos-iowa-democratic-wing-ding-dinner-clear-lake-iowa-august-14-2015-wingding.html

Jay Inslee to Barnstorm Iowa with 8 Events in 3 Days on August 9-11, 2019

Inslee to Barnstorm Iowa with 8 Events in 3 Days
Washington Gov. to attend Iowa State Fair, gun sense forum, and meet-and-greets across Iowa

Inslee will travel to Des Moines, Clear Lake, Grimes, Polk City, Nevada, Waterloo, and Cedar Rapids

Seattle, WA – Governor Jay Inslee will spend the weekend in Iowa with a schedule packed full of events at and around the Iowa State Fair. Inslee will meet with Iowa voters to speak about his campaign and share details of his plans to defeat the climate crisis.

Inslee will attend large political events with other presidential candidates, including the Democratic Wing Ding dinner, the Iowa State Fair and Political Soapbox, and the Everytown for Gun Safety candidate forum. He will continue his Iowa trip with retail politics stops, including meet and greets and a roundtable with the Cedar Rapids Corridor Conservation Coalition.

Governor Jay Inslee is the only 2020 candidate making climate change his top priority. He recently announced his “Community Climate Justice” plan, the fifth plank in Inslee’s groundbreaking climate platform, including his “100% Clean Energy for America,” "Evergreen Economy", “Global Climate Mobilization,” and “Freedom from Fossil Fuels” plans, which have been called the “gold standard” among climate change plans.

See below for details and a full schedule of the weekend’s events:

Clear Lake, Iowa - Friday, August 9th, 2019
• Iowa Democratic Wing Ding - Surf Ballroom & Museum, 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake, IA 50428
• 8:00 PM CT
• Inslee will speak at the Democratric Wing Ding in Clear Lake. Inslee will address President Trump’s continued embrace of white nationalism and speak about his plans to build a clean energy economy and defeat climate change.

Des Moines, Iowa - Saturday, August 10th, 2019
• Iowa State Fair Soapbox - Iowa State Fair, 3000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50317
• 9:00 AM CT
• Governor Inslee will participate in Iowa State Fair Soapbox and will answer questions directly from voters.

• Everytown for Gun Safety Candidate Forum - IA Events Center, 730 3rd Street, Des Moines, IA 50309
• 2:00 PM CT
• Inslee will answer questions about gun safety and speak about his record on commonsense gun reform, as well as recent mass shootings and gun violence, President Trump’s embrace of white nationalism, and his plan to combat both.

Grimes, Iowa - Saturday, August 10th, 2019
• Meet and Greet with Grimes Voters - Grimes Community Center, 410 SE Main St, Grimes, IA 50111
• 1:00 PM CT
• Governor Inslee will meet with Grimes voters to hear about their priorities and discuss his vision for America and platform to address climate change.

Polk City, Iowa - Saturday, August 10th, 2019
• Meet and Greet with Polk City Voters - Water Edge, 103 East Broadway St, Polk City, IA 50226
• 4:00 PM CT
• Governor Inslee will meet with voters in Polk City, answering their questions about his campaign.

Nevada, Iowa - Sunday, August 11th, 2019
• Coffee with the Candidate - Farm Grounds Coffee Shop, 1024 6th Street, Nevada, Iowa 50201
• 10:00 AM CT
• Governor Inslee will meet one-on-one with Nevada neighbors to discuss his campaign and hear from voters about the local and national issues they’re passionate about.

Waterloo, Iowa - Sunday, August 11th, 2019
• Black Hawk County Democrats Meet and Greet - Black Hawk County Dems Office, 307 E 4th St, Waterloo IA
• 1:00 PM CT
• Governor Inslee will meet with voters and members of the Black Hawk County Democrats to learn about their priorities and discuss his vision for America and plans to address the climate crisis.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Sunday, August 11th, 2019
• Linn County Environmental Leaders Meeting - Indian Creek Nature Center, 5300 Otis Rd SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403
• 4:00 PM CT
• Governor Inslee will meet with local environmental leaders to hear about the environmental challenges facing Iowa, share his experiences from his “Climate Mission Tour,” and discuss his robust suite of policies to combat climate change.

Cory Booker Earns Endorsements from State Representative Monica Kurth, Ames City Councilwoman Amber Corrieri, Prominent Iowa Activists

Cory Booker Earns Endorsements from State Representative Monica Kurth, Ames City Councilwoman Amber Corrieri, Prominent Iowa Activists Following Stand Out Debate Performance

Des Moines, IA - Following his standout performance in the CNN Democratic Presidential Debates, Cory Booker earned new endorsements from State Representative Monica Kurth of Davenport, Ames City Councilwoman Amber Corrieri and several more prominent Iowa activists.

"Cory Booker is not afraid to confront the most difficult problems facing this nation because he does so with love. At a time of great pain, Cory is the candidate we need to help unite us, heal our nation, and restore a sense of dignity and decency back to America. Cory’s campaign is about more than the policies he’ll implement or kicking one man out of one office, it’s about igniting a sense of responsibility and purpose in each and every one of us to work towards a brighter future for our communities, and that’s why I am so proud to endorse Cory Booker,” said State Representative Monica Kurth.

“As a local elected official, I want a president who has an understanding of what it means to be accountable to your entire community. Cory Booker has not only experienced this first hand as a former council member and mayor, but continues to carry a message of accountability and compassion in his work as a United States Senator. It is for this reason that I proudly join #TeamCory and endorse Cory Booker for President of the United States. I believe his passion for service and spirit of unity will inspire us all to work together to ignite change in our communities and across the nation,” said Ames City Councilwoman Amber Corrieri.

Kurth and Corrieri join the largest list of influential Iowa leaders backing any presidential contender in Iowa, including State Representatives Amy Nielsen and Jennifer Konfrst, who became the first two Iowa legislators to endorse any candidate in the 2020 field, and former State House Minority Leader Mark Smith and State Representative Kenan Judge.

“We’re building this caucus campaign brick by brick, focusing on the community leaders who know better than anyone who can not only win Iowa but unite our country to defeat Donald Trump. We are thrilled to have Representative Kurth and Councilwoman Corrieri join our team here in Iowa,” said Cory 2020 Iowa State Director Mike Frosolone.

Full list of the Iowa elected officials and activists endorsing Cory Booker today is below:

State Representative Monica Kurth House District 89, Scott County
Ames City Councilwoman Amber Corrieri Story County
Toni Backstrom Activist, Polk County
Harold Davis Labor Activist, Polk County
Ana Garcia Entrepreneur and Latinx Community Leader, Black Hawk County
John Judge former Polk County Democrats Treasurer, Polk County
Diane Kolmer Activist, Polk County
Cody Leistikow Labor Activist, Black Hawk County
Tim Moothart Chair of the Dubuque Coalition for Nonviolence, Dubuque County
Judy Ryan Activist, Linn County
Roslin Thompson Knoxville Public Library Director, Marion County

Kamala Harris First TV Ad ‘Me, Maya, and Mom:’

In First TV Ad of Campaign, Kamala Harris Offers Bold Solutions to the Issues Keeping Americans Up At Night

Ad Begins Airing Thursday in Iowa As Harris Arrives For Five-Day “3AM Agenda” Bus Tour

WATCH THE AD

In the first TV ad of her presidential campaign, Senator Kamala Harris emphasizes her “3AM Agenda” to take bold action and deliver tangible benefits that improve Americans’ daily lives. On issues from affording health care, to making ends meet each month, to guaranteeing women are paid equally, Harris’ “3AM Agenda” addresses the problems that keep Americans up at night.

Harris’ passion to fight for real relief for working families comes from her own upbringing. In the ad, titled “Me, Maya, and Mom,” Harris talks about how she and her sister were raised by a mother who would “work all day then pour her whole heart into Maya and me when she got home. And then, after we were fed and in bed, our mother would sit up trying to figure out how to make it all work.” 

“That’s what my ‘3AM Agenda’ is all about—a real plan to help you solve those worries,” she adds. “The biggest middle-class tax cut in a generation; another $500 in your pocket every month, paid for by repealing Donald Trump’s tax breaks for the top one percent and the richest corporations in America; health care for all with Medicare for All; and for companies that don’t pay women the same as men, new fines on their profits until they do.”

“Instead of ideological or theoretical debates, Senator Harris is focused on an action plan to directly improve the lives of American families,” said spokesman Ian Sams. “Right now, millions of Americans worry about making ends meet each month, getting the health care they need, affording their rent, or whether their child will be a victim of a school shooting the next day, and her agenda directly addresses the issues that keep people up at night.”

Harris embarks Thursday on a five-day bus tour across Iowa where she will travel from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, sharing her plans for direct relief for working and middle class families and listening to Iowans at retail stops and the state fair.

The ad is part of a significant six-figure TV and digital buy in Iowa this week.

Tra nscript of ‘Me, Maya, and Mom:’

Kamala Harris voiceover: 

She’d work all day then pour her whole heart into Maya and me when she got home. And then, after we were fed and in bed, our mother would sit up trying to figure out how to make it all work.

That’s something most Americans know all too well. 

And that’s what my “3AM Agenda” is all about—a real plan to help you solve those worries: the biggest middle-class tax cut in a generation; another $500 in your pocket every month, paid for by repealing Donald Trump’s tax breaks for the top one percent and the richest corporations in America; health care for all with Medicare for All; and for companies that don’t pay women the same as men, new fines on their profits until they do. 

That’s what I’m fighting for—real relief for families like yours. Not in 20 years. Not in 30. Starting my first day as President. Because you’ve waited long enough to get a good night’s sleep. 

I’m Kamala Harris, and I approve this message 

Bernie Sanders to Hold Press and Staff Softball Game at Iowa’s Iconic Field of Dreams

Bernie Sanders to Hold Press and Staff Softball Game at Iowa’s Iconic Field of Dreams

DYERSVILLE, IA – Sen. Bernie Sanders will hold a softball game between members of the press and campaign staff at Iowa’s iconic Field of Dreams in Dyersville on Monday, August 19th.

“At a time when members of the media are demonized by the president, we hope to show goodwill and sportsmanship on the Field of Dreams,” said Bernie 2020 campaign manager and former Harvard Crimson 2nd baseman Faiz Shakir. “But be advised, we're playing to win.”

The event will be free and open to the public, who are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs to watch Sen. Sanders, a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan and renowned stickball, basketball and track star, lead the campaign staff team in taking on members of the press under the lights.

Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the pre-game program will begin at 6:30 p.m. ahead of the first pitch at 7:00 p.m.
Here are the details:

Monday, August 19th

7:00 p.m. Field of Dreams Press and Staff Softball Game with Sen. Bernie Sanders
The Field of Dreams, 28995 Lansing Road, Dyersville, IA 52040
Information for the public: This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required but an RSVP is encouraged. Entrance is provided on a first come, first served basis. Please bring blankets and lawn chairs for seating. Parking available on site.

John Delaney Returns to Iowa on August 14-15, 2019

Delaney Returns to Iowa Next Week

DES MOINES, IA – The John Delaney for President campaign continues a schedule of events across Iowa next week. Delaney will meet with Iowans across the state, ending his visit at the Urbandale Dems Fearless Fighter Women's Award Dinner.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14TH

WHAT: Mahaska County Meet and Greet
WHO: John Delaney, Mahaska County Democrats
WHEN: 10:00 AM - 11:00
WHERE: Smokey Row, 109 S Market St, Oskaloosa, IA 5257

WHAT: Jefferson County Meet and Greet
WHO: John Delaney, Jefferson County Democrats
WHEN: 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
WHERE: Revelations Cafe, 112 N Main St., Fairfield, IA 52556

WHAT: Henry County Meet and Greet
WHO: John Delaney, Henry County Democrats
WHEN: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
WHERE: Central Park Coffee Company, 120 S Main St., Mt Pleasant, IA 52641

WHAT: Des Moines County Meet and Greet
WHO: John Delaney, Des Moines County Democrats
WHEN: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
WHERE: Bean Counter, 212 Jefferson St., Burlington, IA 52601

WHAT: Muscatine Meet and Greet
WHO: John Delaney, Muscatine County Democrats
WHEN: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
WHERE: Lighthouse Restaurant in Fairport, 2142 Water St., Muscatine, IA 52761

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15TH

WHAT: Iowa City Meet and Greet
WHO: John Delaney, Iowa City Democrats
WHEN: 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
WHERE: Prairie Lights Bookstore and Cafe, 15 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240

WHAT: Iowa Arts Forum
WHO: John Delaney
WHEN: 2:45
WHERE: Hoyt Sherman Theatre, 501 Woodland Ave., Des Moines, IA 50314

WHAT: Urbandale Dems Fearless Fighter Women’s Award Dinner
WHO: John Delaney, Urbandale Dems
WHEN: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
WHERE: 615 3rd St., Des Moines, IA 50309

Ahead of 5-day bus tour, Harris’ Iowa Campaign Launches “Kamala Captains” Program

Ahead of 5-day bus tour, Harris’ Iowa Campaign Launches “Kamala Captains” Program

Today, as Kamala Harris prepares to go river-to-river on her 3AM Agenda bus tour this week, her campaign in Iowa is launching its “Kamala Captains” program. The organizing initiative will identify the campaign’s most active volunteers early in the caucus cycle. “Kamala Captains” will form the core of the campaign’s volunteer network in Iowa that will amplify the campaign’s efforts to reach into every county and precinct across the state. Eventually, these Kamala Captains will serve as precinct captains for Kamala in their communities.

“We have been blown away by volunteers who are excited to take on leadership roles in their communities in order to get Kamala Harris elected,” said Harris’ Iowa Organizing Director Erin Phillips. “By talking to their friends and neighbors, Kamala Captains will be engaging in the crucial, on-the-ground work that is the foundation of our campaign’s commitment to meeting people where they are.”

“Kamala Captains” will take on a range of responsibilities, including hosting events, training volunteers, identifying and persuading new supporters, and training to become precinct captains. Kamala Captains will be given goals to hit so that they can take part in collecting commit-to-caucus cards for Kamala. They will be a key component of Kamala Harris’ growing organizing program that is laying the groundwork for success on Caucus Night.

Michael Bennet to Visit Iowa on August 9-12, 2019: Meet & Greets, Wing Ding, State Fair *Updated

Michael Bennet in Iowa This Weekend: Meet & Greets, Wing Ding, State Fair *Updated

DENVER — Michael Bennet will visit Iowa this weekend to share his vision for the country and why he’s the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump, unify our nation, and build the kind of future every kid in America deserves.

Bennet, the former superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, spoke powerfully during last week’s debate about the undeniable link between the failures of our education system and the pervasive inequality in this country.

Friday, August 9

Iowa Democratic Wing Ding
Speaking Time: 6:38 PM
Location: Surf Ballroom, 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake, IA

Saturday, August 10

Fort Dodge Meet and Greet
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Bloomers on Central, 900 Central Ave #10, Fort Dodge, Iowa

Ames Meet and Greet
Time: 12:30 PM
Location: Cafe Diem, 229 Main Street, Ames, IA

Colfax Meet and Greet
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Poppy’s, 124 North Walnut Street, Colfax, IA

Knoxville Meet and Greet
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Peace Tree Brewing, 107 West Main Street, Knoxville, IA

Sunday, August 11

Climate Change Town Hall
Time: 11:30 AM
Location: Mars Cafe, 2318 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA

Visit Iowa State Fair with Family
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: 3000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA

Political Soapbox at State Fair
Time: 3:00 PM

There will be a press gaggle following his remarks.

**NEW EVENT: Flipping Pork Chops at Pork Producers Tent at State Fair
Approximate Time: 5:00 PM

Monday, August 12

**NEW EVENT: Visit to The Downtown School
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: 1800 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA

Young Iowa Leaders from Labor, Faith, and Education Communities Endorse Joe Biden Ahead of Four-Day Swing

Young Iowa Leaders from Labor, Faith, and Education Communities Endorse Joe Biden Ahead of Four-Day Swing

Des Moines, Iowa – Today, ahead of Joe Biden’s four-day swing across Iowa, young leaders across the Hawkeye State are endorsing Biden. Biden will barnstorm the state throughout the week, attending community events and campaign office openings as well as other signature events for presidential candidates like the Iowa State Fair, Iowa Wing Ding Dinner, and more.

“Time and again, Vice President Biden inspires and invigorates the next generation of leaders who are passionate about restoring the soul of our nation and imbuing the middle class with a renewed optimism,” said Jake Braun, Iowa State Director, Biden for President. “As Vice President Biden arrives in Iowa today, we’re proud to have the confidence and support of a new generation of Iowa leaders and advocates who are bright lights in their communities because they believe deeply that the spirit of optimism and unity in America will prevail – and that Joe Biden is the leader who can help us get there.”

Today’s endorsements include:
• Sarah Orwig, International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) member and Iowa Professional Fire Fighters (IPFF) Executive Board Trustee
• Rev. Dr. Frantz Whitfield, Senior Minister, Mount Carmel Baptist Missionary Church
• Megan Rucker, Educator from Davenport
• Patrick Riley, Attorney and Community Activist from Cedar Rapids
• Kyle Cirkyl, U.S. Army Veteran and Engineer from Cedar Rapids
• Miyoko Hikiji, Veteran and Advocate from Urbandale
• Ellen Goodmann Miller, Community and Resource Development Specialist from Dubuque
• Jesse McCunniff, Iowa National Guard Veteran and Community Activist from Waterloo
In endorsing Vice President Biden, the young leaders from Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, Dubuque, Davenport and Urbandale said the following:

“As a fire fighter and a proud union leader, I know no one has had our backs more than Joe Biden,” said International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) member and Iowa Professional Fire Fighters (IPFF) Executive Board Trustee Sarah Orwig. “And as a military veteran, I’ve fought for the respect and dignity the United States deserves abroad that Joe Biden would restore. We need a president who looks up to, not down on, the working class the way Joe always has. Who will fight to build us back up, not tear us down – from bringing back collective bargaining rights that have been ripped to shreds in Iowa, to commanding the respect from our adversaries abroad through real negotiations, not thoughtless tweets. If we’re serious about the future of working people and the security of this country, we need to elect Joe Biden as our President of the United States.”

“I’ve been preaching since the age of 13 years old – and throughout my life I’ve been blessed to help others seek out the compassion, dignity, and decency that lies not only within ourselves, but in our neighbors, in our community and in our world,” said Reverend Dr. Frantz Whitfield, Senior Minister, Mount Carmel Baptist Missionary Church. “Joe Biden is the leader who’s always lived those values. As a Faith Adviser during the Obama-Biden Administration, I’ve seen that leadership firsthand. I’ve seen Joe Biden’s dogged determination to make sure good wins out – from ensuring the human right of quality, affordable health care, to making sure love trumps hate across our nation. Joe Biden is the leader we need in the White House to heal our country today, and to unite us once again tomorrow.”

“As a teacher who has worked at a Title I school, I know how revolutionary Vice President Biden’s education plan would be for students and teachers,” said educator Megan Rucker. “Leaders like Joe understand and appreciate what a new generation of students need – and that by investing in students and their educators early on, and providing better access to mental health support, counselors other critical support systems, we can take our country to new heights. Joe gets what life is like for teachers and students at low-income schools like the kids I teach – but most importantly, he rolls up his sleeves to do something about it. I’m proud to support Joe Biden because Joe Biden supports teachers like me.”

“As a longtime supporter of President Obama’s, I’m very proud of the Obama-Biden legacy that ushered in a new era of progress in our country,” said attorney and community activist Patrick Riley. “President Obama counted on Vice President Biden to help him lead then, and Joe Biden has my full faith and confidence now to hit the ground running on Day One to make the strides on reducing climate change we need, to build on – not end – the Affordable Care Act, and to end gun violence across this country.”

“Meeting Vice President Biden, you get to know his heart,” said veteran and advocate Miyoko Hikiji. “Joe Biden has seen himself the struggles of the military while deployed, and their battles with the VA system back home. Having served in Iraq, I understand the costs of war. So, it’s important to me that our next Commander in Chief will support the Armed Forces, whenever possible, with the most powerful executive action — peace. Diplomacy and development protect soldiers abroad and secure our nation’s soil by promoting the values, economic interests and moral leadership that other countries look to. Our next president must understand, and rebuild, America’s role in the world. Joe Biden can champion the restoration of our nation’s reputation because he’s a leader who listens to, cares for, and respects the sacrifices of our troops, and knows his duty to protect our country is a sacred promise. While in uniform, with all that was asked of me, I will not ask for anything less. It’s time to make Joe Biden the next President of the United States.”

“I’ve been fortunate to know Joe Biden for much of my life,” said community and resource development specialist Ellen Goodmann Miller. “I was proud to have worked on his Iowa campaign in 2007-2008 and to witness the Vice President’s critical leadership during the Obama-Biden Administration. Right now, the U.S. is facing grave challenges. We need Joe’s vision to unify our country in order to build a brighter future here at home; and we need his unparalleled leadership to restore our standing in the world. Joe has lived through some of the toughest of times, and I believe he can lead us through the many challenges our country faces with compassion, conviction, and a shared vision of equity, justice, and prosperity for all.”

“As a veteran who served our country proudly, there’s no other leader I’d rather see at the helm steering our nation forward and protecting our troops than Joe Biden,” said Iowa National Guard veteran and community activist Jesse McCunniff. “He’s proven his steady hand at home and abroad from helping bring us from the edge of financial ruin to getting tough on our foreign adversaries to help make our country safer. We need his leadership now to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, to improve – not do away with Obamacare, and to strengthen our education system for our kids. We need a leader – not more petty politics. We need Joe Biden in White House.”

Elizabeth Warren Releases Plan to Invest in Rural America and Build a New Farm Economy

Elizabeth Warren Releases Plan to Invest in Rural America and Build a New Farm Economy

Charlestown, MA - Today, Elizabeth Warren released her plan to invest in rural America and build a new farm economy. Her plan includes creating a public option for broadband and ending government giveaways for private internet service providers, investing in rural health care, and taking strong anti-trust action against hospital mergers that threaten access to basic services. She outlines how her plans for universal child care and high-quality early education, student debt cancellation, building and rehabilitating affordable housing, and tackling the opioid crisis will restore opportunity in rural America.

Elizabeth also lays out how she will replace the government's failed approach to the farm economy and address our climate crisis head-on by paying farmers for sustainable farming practices that can help us fight climate change.

Elizabeth is releasing her plan before kicking of a 4-day tour across Iowa. Read more about her plan to invest in rural America here. Read more about her plan to build a new farm economy here.

My Plan to Invest in Rural America

A strong America requires a strong rural America. Rural communities are home to 60 million people, hundreds of tribal nations, and a growing number of new immigrants who account for 37% of rural population growth. These communities feed our nation. And they are leading the country in sustainable energy, generating 99% of America’s wind energy and pioneering efforts to harness solar energy.

But both corporate America and leaders in Washington have turned their backs on the people living in our rural communities and prioritized the interests of giant companies and Wall Street instead. Burdened by student debt, young people are leaving rural communities to find jobs elsewhere. Big broadband companies exclude entire communities – especially tribal communities and rural communities of color – from access to high-speed Internet. Rural communities are losing access to quality health care. Climate change – from more severe floods to extreme heat – is changing the rural way of life. And farmers are forced to compete with giant agribusinesses on an uneven playing field.

Our failure to invest in rural areas is holding back millions of families, weakening our economy, and undermining our efforts to combat climate change. It’s time to fix this.

Protecting Access to Health Care in Rural Communities

Health care is a human right. But people can’t fully exercise that right in communities lacking access to basic services like primary, emergency, and maternity care. That is what’s happening across rural America, where the prevalence of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes is higher, as is the risk of dying from the leading causes of death in the country compared to urban areas. Barriers to coverage, disappearing health facilities, and a shortage of health professionals are denying rural communities the high-quality health care they deserve.

Insurance coverage continues to remain out of reach for many people living in rural communities – and even for those with coverage, rural America is quickly becoming a medical desert. In less than a decade, 112 rural hospitals have closed, with hundreds more teetering on the edge. Those that do remain open operate on razor-thin margins from uncompensated care, lower patient volume, and insufficient reimbursement.

That’s why I support Medicare for All, so that every person will have access to affordable care no matter where they live. That means access to primary care and lower health care costs for patients – and less uncompensated care for hospitals, helping hospitals stay afloat. We also need to increase reimbursement rates for rural hospitals and alleviate unnecessary restrictions that make it difficult for them to serve their communities. Medicare already has special designations available to rural hospitals, but they must be updated to match the reality of rural areas. I will create a new designation that reimburses rural hospitals at a higher rate, relieves distance requirements, and offers flexibility of services by assessing the needs of their communities.

But we can’t stop there. Higher rates of consolidation for both for-profit and non-profit hospitals are making it harder to access care. And yet, many hospitals can evade federal antitrust enforcement either because the value of the merger is too small to trigger mandatory review or because the Federal Trade Commission’s purview over non-profit hospitals is constrained. Vertical integration is also increasing as more hospitals acquire physician practices, and some states have deliberately sheltered hospitals from federal antitrust action. I will boost the federal government’s oversight of mergers and anti-competitive behavior to make sure that health care companies play by the rules and put the needs of patients first.

As President, I will direct the FTC to block all future mergers between hospitals unless the merging companies can show that the newly-merged entity will maintain or improve access to care. If a proposed merger helps maintain or improve access to health care, that’s fine. But when it is a first step to closing hospitals or slashing basic services, then a Warren administration will block it.

I’ll also put forward a set of reforms to strengthen FTC oversight over health care organizations, including establishing new federal regulations and guidance to require that all mergers involving health care centers be reported to the FTC. I’ll authorize the FTC to conduct reviews of non-profit hospitals for anti-competitive behavior, update Department of Justice guidance on vertical mergers, and crack down on vertically integrated health care companies that are raising costs without improving the quality of care. And I’ll work with states to repeal Certificate of Public Advantage, or COPA, statutes that shield health care organizations from federal antitrust review and can lead to the creation of large monopolies with little to no oversight.

We also have a responsibility to make sure that places that have experienced a loss in services or are otherwise medically underserved can better meet the needs of their communities. That’s why I will increase funding for Community Health Centers by 15 percent per year over the next five years. I will also establish a $25 billion dollar capital fund to support a menu of options for improving access to care in health professional shortage areas, including: constructing a new facility like a Community Health Center, Rural Health Clinic, School-Based Health Center, or birthing center; expanding capacity or services at an existing clinic; establishing pharmacy services or a telemedicine program; supporting a diabetes self-management education program; improving transportation to the nearest hospital; or piloting models like mobile clinics and community paramedicine programs.

Rural communities have been particularly impacted by the opioid epidemic, with the rate of opioid overdose deaths having been higher there than in urban areas in recent years. I’m pushing for $100 billion over 10 years to end the opioid crisis, including $2.7 billion for the hardest-hit counties and cities and $800 million in direct funding for tribal governments and organizations. Funding can be used for prevention and early intervention services at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics and to train health professionals on treating substance use disorders in rural and other medically underserved areas.

To ensure access to quality health services, we must also close the health care workforce gaps across rural America. Nearly 60% of Health Professional Shortage Areas – those lacking sufficient primary care physicians, physician assistants, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, EMTs, and home health aides – are in rural regions. More than 3,600 additional doctors are needed to close the rural physician workforce deficit today, but Congressionally-imposed caps on medical residencies and unstable funding of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) have made this gap nearly impossible to close. What’s more, this shortage is rapidly increasing as rural physicians near retirement and fewer incoming medical students plan to practice in rural areas.

As President, I will make sure we expand our health care workforce by investing more resources in building the pipeline of medical professionals in rural areas. This starts by dramatically scaling up apprenticeship programs as proposed in my Economic Patriotism plan to support partnerships between unions, high schools, community colleges, and a wide array of health care professionals to build a health care workforce that is rooted in the community. I’ll lift the cap on residency placements by 15,000 – and because residents are more likely to practice where they train, I’ll target half of new placements in medically-underserved areas such as rural residency programs, residency programs with Rural Training Track programs, and the Indian Health Service (IHS), while working with rural programs to ensure that they can take full advantage of these increases. I’ll also significantly expand the NHSC loan repayment program to $15 billion and the IHS loan repayment program to $1 billion over the next 10 years to cover full loan repayment for 5 years of service and to increase the number of health professionals serving rural and Native American communities.

Building Economic Security in Rural America

My plan doesn’t stop at health care. Every American is entitled to some basic financial security, no matter where they live. But people living in rural communities face challenges that can threaten that security. My plans are designed to address these challenges and allow people in rural communities to thrive economically.

Take child care. Today, a majority of rural communities lack sufficient access to child care. On average, rural families spend more of their incomes on child care than families in urban areas. My plan for Universal Child Care will provide access to high-quality child care in every community that is free for millions and affordable for everyone. The federal government will also work closely with local providers and tribal governments to make sure there are high-quality child care options available in every community – including home-based child care services, which rural families are more likely to use.

Rural communities also face unique housing challenges. More than 150 rural counties have a severe-need for affordable rental housing and 38% of rural counties have moderately-severe rental housing needs. Home values in rural areas have also been slower to recover from the financial crisis. My housing plan invests $523 million to create 380,000 affordable rental homes in rural communities and provides an additional $2 billion to help homeowners with underwater mortgages still struggling to recover from the financial crisis. It also invests $2.5 billion to build or rehabilitate 200,000 homes on tribal lands, where overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing have reached crisis levels.

And the student debt crisis hits rural areas particularly hard. In part because of huge student debt burdens, young adults are leaving rural communities for jobs in cities. Just 52% of rural student loan borrowers remain in a rural area, compared to 66% of those who did not take out loans – and those with more debt are more likely to leave. My plan to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt will mean that recent graduates won’t need to flock to urban centers to find jobs that will help them pay down these loans. And my plan to provide universal free technical, two-year, and four-year public college will make sure that no student is ever put in this situation again. We need to make it possible for students to see rural communities as places of opportunity where they can live, work, and build a future for themselves.

A Public Option for Broadband

One of the best tools for unlocking economic opportunity and advances in health care, like telemedicine, is access to reliable, high-speed Internet. In the twenty-first century, every home should have access to this technology – but we’re not even close to that today. According to the FCC, in 2017 26.4% of people living in rural areas and 32.1% of people living on tribal lands did not have access to minimum speed broadband (25 Mbps/ 3 Mbps), compared to 1.7% in urban areas. And given the notorious loopholes in FCC reporting requirements, these figures underestimate the gap.

At the same time, while urban areas may be more likely to have access to fiber broadband, many residents can’t afford to connect to it. Nearly 27% of households in Detroit and Cleveland had no Internet access in 2017, and households with incomes below $35,000 comprise 60% of households without broadband access, despite making up just 31% of the national population.

We’ve faced this kind of problem before. Prior to the late 1930s, private electric companies passed over rural communities they felt offered minimal profit opportunities, leaving the families living there literally in the dark. Just like the electric companies eighty years ago, today’s biggest internet service providers (ISPs) have left large parts of the country unserved or dramatically underserved.

Not only that, they have deliberately restricted competition, kept prices high, and used their armies of lobbyists to convince state legislatures to ban municipalities from building their own public networks. Meanwhile, the federal government has shoveled billions of taxpayer dollars to private ISPs in an effort to expand broadband to remote areas, but those providers have done the bare minimum with these resources – offering internet speeds well below the FCC minimum.

This ends when I’m President. I will make sure every home in America has a fiber broadband connection at a price families can afford. That means publicly-owned and operated networks – and no giant ISPs running away with taxpayer dollars. My plan will:

• Make it clear in federal statute that municipalities have the right to build their own broadband networks. Many small towns and rural areas have turned to municipal networks to provide broadband access in places that the private market has failed to serve – but today, as many as 26 states have passed laws hindering or banning municipalities from building their own broadband infrastructure to protect the interests of giant telecom companies. We will preempt these laws and return this power to local governments.

• Create an Office of Broadband Access in my Department of Economic Development that will manage a new $85 billion federal grant program to massively expand broadband access across the country. Under my plan, only electricity and telephone cooperatives, non-profit organizations, tribes, cities, counties, and other state subdivisions will be eligible for grants from this fund – and all grants will be used to build the fiber infrastructure necessary to bring high-speed broadband to unserved areas, underserved areas, or areas with minimal competition.

The federal government will pay 90 cents on the dollar for construction under these grants. In exchange, applicants will be required to offer high-speed public broadband directly to every home in their application area. Applicants will have to offer at least one plan with 100 Mbps/ 100 Mbps speeds and one discount internet plan for low-income customers with a prepaid feature or a low monthly rate.

Of these funds, $5 billion will be set aside specifically for 100% federal grants to tribal nations to expand broadband access on Native American lands. In addition to necessary “last mile” infrastructure, tribes will be able to apply for funds to build the missing 8,000 miles of middle mile fiber on tribal lands.

• Appoint FCC Commissioners who will restore net neutrality. I will appoint FCC Commissioners who will restore net neutrality, regulating internet service providers as “common carriers” and maintaining open access to the Internet. And I will require all telecommunications services to contribute fairly into the Universal Service Fund to shore up essential universal service programs that provide subsidies to low-income individuals, schools, and libraries to increase broadband adoption, including signing into law and building on the Tribal Connect Act, so that we can work toward every tribal library having broadband access.

• Bolster the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy. This office holds trainings, technical assistance, and consultations for Indian Country. Providing it with dedicated, increased funding to expand its capacity will help close the digital divide.

• Improve the accuracy of broadband maps. Weak FCC oversight has allowed ISPs to greatly exaggerate how many households they serve and has given ISPs added fuel to downplay their failures and protect themselves from regulation. To provide universal broadband access and crack down on anti-competitive behaviors, the government has to know how extensive the problems are. I will appoint FCC Commissioners who will require ISPs to report service and speeds down to the household level, as well as aggregate pricing data, and work with community stakeholders – including tribal nations – to make sure we get this process right. Then, we will make these data available to the public and conduct regular audits to ensure accurate reporting.

• Prohibit the range of sneaky maneuvers giant private providers use to unfairly squeeze out competition, hold governments hostage, and drive up prices. It’s time to crack down on all the anti-competitive behaviors that giant ISPs have used to steamroll the competition. We will return control of utility poles and conduits to cities, prohibit landlords from making side deals with private ISPs to limit choices in their properties, and ban companies from limiting access to wires inside buildings. We will make sure that all new buildings are fiber-ready so that any network can deliver service there, and we will also enact “Dig Once” policies to require that conduit is laid anytime the ground is opened for a public infrastructure project.

• Ensure every person has the skills to fully participate in our online economy. Even when there’s access to broadband internet – and even when it’s available at an affordable price – people may still not take advantage of it because they don’t know how to use it. That’s why I will work to pass the Digital Equity Act, which invests $2.5 billion over ten years to help states develop digital equity plans and launch digital inclusion projects.
Creating and Defending Jobs in Rural America

Expanding broadband is just the first step to boosting economic opportunity in rural communities. We need to do more to bring high-quality jobs back to rural areas and small towns and negotiate trade agreements that keep jobs in the U.S. – and don’t ship them overseas. That’s why I’ve committed to creating a National Jobs Strategy focused specifically on regional economies and trends that disproportionately affect rural areas and small cities. And why I will spend $2 trillion in green research, manufacturing, and exporting to create more than a million new jobs, reversing the manufacturing losses that many rural communities have experienced over the last two decades.

I’ve also called for a $400 billion commitment in clean energy research and development – funding that will go to land grant universities, rural areas, and areas that have seen the worst job losses in recent years. I’ll dramatically scale up worker training programs, spending $20 billion on apprenticeships and instituting new sectoral training programs to boost job opportunities for people across Rural America.

Immigration is also revitalizing local economies and reversing population decline in a number of rural communities. I’ve called for expanding legal immigration – done the right way and consistent with our principles – to grow our economy, reunite families, and meet our labor market demands. My immigration plan will raise wages for everyone and make sure that businesses won’t be able to get away with dirty tricks that undercut pay.

And I will build a new approach to our trade policy to make sure that the new, high-quality jobs we create stay right here in America. As part of my new plan, I’ll fundamentally change our negotiation process so that rural communities are explicitly represented at the table, and use our leverage to demand more for workers and farmers by raising standards worldwide.

Bolstering Small and Local Business

Small businesses are critical to the economic vitality of rural communities, but people in rural communities face challenges accessing capital and financial services to start, grow, and operate their businesses. The number of rural counties without a locally owned community bank has doubled since 1994, and 86 new rural banking deserts have appeared since 2008, leaving these communities with no banking services within 10 miles. That’s why I’ve proposed allowing the U.S. Postal Service to partner with local community banks and credit unions to provide access to low-cost, basic banking services online and at post offices.

What’s more, 25% of new rural banking deserts have been in communities of color. Credit and small loans are critical to starting and growing a small business, but longer distances between a borrower and their bank are associated with more credit denials and higher interest rates on loans. That’s why I will establish a $7 billion fund to close the gap in startup capital for entrepreneurs of color, which will support 100,000 new minority-owned businesses, provide over a million new jobs, and further boost economic development in rural areas.

Private equity firms have further harmed local businesses, buying up everything from mobile home parks to hospitals to nursing homes to local newspapers, loading them up with debt, sucking them dry, and leaving workers to pick up the pieces. I’ll rein in Wall Street to hold private equity firms accountable and keep them from destroying businesses that bring economic opportunity – and jobs – to small towns and rural communities across the country. It’s time to prioritize the long-term interests of American workers, not the short-term interests of big financial institutions.

Building a New Farm Economy
Rural America is also the home of our nation’s agriculture sector, but today, farmers are getting squeezed by giant agribusinesses that are gobbling up more land and driving down prices. In 1935, there were 6.8 million farms in the United States – but in 2017, there were just above 2 million. What’s more, as the number of farms has decreased, the size of each remaining farm has dramatically grown – from an average of 155 acres per farm in 1935 to an average of 444 acres per farm today. Meanwhile, the farmer’s share of the food dollar has plummeted to just 14.6 cents in 2017 – the lowest number since the USDA began reporting this figure in 1993.

That’s why I’ve pledged to address consolidation in the agriculture sector by reviewing – and reversing – anti-competitive mergers and breaking up big agribusinesses that have become vertically integrated. I’ll also support a national right to repair law for farmers, reform country-of-origin labeling, and restrict foreign ownership of American agriculture companies and farmland.

And I’ll take it one step further – charting a new farm economy that replaces our government’s failed approach with one that guarantees farmers a fair price and protects our environment.

The cost of each and every one of these investments is fully offset by my plans to make the ultra-wealthy and large corporations pay more in taxes. Those plans include my annual two-cent wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million and my plan to ensure that very large and profitable American corporations can’t get away with paying zero taxes. And the new investments I’m announcing today for universal broadband access and health care options in rural areas can be offset by changing the tax laws that encourage companies to merge and reduce competition.

I want Washington to work for communities all over this country. From expanding access to broadband to boosting investment in quality jobs, together we can make big, structural change to create new opportunities all across rural America

A New Farm Economy

Consolidation in the agriculture sector is leaving America’s family farmers with lower prices and fewer choices. Giant corporations use their market share to squeeze farmers from both sides. Farmers are pressured into taking on huge debts to pay the high prices that a small number of large suppliers charge them for inputs like seeds and fertilizer. Then, farmers are at the whim of a market that is controlled by meatpackers and grain traders that can pay them low prices for the commodities they produce -- prices that often don’t cover all the money farmers had to spend in the first place.

All of this causes tremendous overproduction of commodities. In the face of lower and lower prices in the market, farmers are left to produce more to try and break even. But this just causes prices to go down even further, benefiting the huge corporations looking to buy goods on the cheap and leaving farmers dependent on the government to backfill their costs.

As a consequence, the agriculture sector has become one of the largest polluters in our economy. As farmers are pressured to plant fence row to fence row and use more fertilizer in search of a higher yield, rural communities lose their soil and water and the environment suffers.

Much of this situation is the direct result of government policy. Our current system of subsidies is supposed to make up the difference between the low prices farmers get on the market and what they have to pay to grow food. But instead it lets big corporations at the top of the supply chain get away with paying artificially low costs while farmers struggle and taxpayers make up the difference. It encourages overproduction by guaranteeing revenue regardless of prices or environmental conditions. And it feeds climate change.

Farmers are stewards of the land, and they know this system of overproduction is unsustainable -- but without a change in incentives, they have no other choice.

To fix this problem, we need big, structural change. That’s why I’m calling for a complete overhaul of our failed approach to the farm economy. Instead of subsidizing industrial agriculture and starving farmers and rural communities, my new approach will guarantee farmers a fair price, reduce overproduction, and pay farmers for environmental conservation.

By making this shift, we can raise farm incomes and reduce taxpayer expenditures. We can break the stranglehold that giant agribusinesses have over our farm economy, and expand economic opportunities for small- and medium-sized farmers, family farmers, women farmers, and farmers of color. We can also provide consumers with affordable, high-quality, and often local food, while protecting our land and water and combating the existential threat of climate change.

Replacing our government’s failed approach to the farm economy

Our agriculture markets are badly broken. American farmers spend their days toiling over their crops, but at sale time, more than half report negative income from their farming activity. In 2018, the median income farmers made from farming activity before federal subsidies was negative $1,316. Why? Because the market is paying farmers far less than what it costs them to produce their goods.

And it gets worse. Farm subsidies that are necessary to keep farms afloat in this market function as an incentive to overproduce by guaranteeing payments only for certain commodities and encouraging farming on marginal land. This squeezes small farmers, undermines sustainable farming for the long-term, and damages our environment.

It hasn’t always been this way. During the New Deal, FDR’s administration recognized the critical role farmers would play in getting our country out of the Great Depression. His administration set up a system that guaranteed farmers fair prices, tackled overproduction, and reversed environmental degradation. And it worked: for decades, this system gave farmers the security they needed to thrive, kept consumer prices stable, and helped restore our country’s farmland.

But starting in the 1970s, giant agribusinesses convinced the Nixon Administration to change the system. Corporations called it “deregulating” the farm economy, but of course, this didn’t actually mean reducing government intervention. It just meant shifting that intervention from advancing the interests of farmers, consumers, and the environment to protecting the bottom line of giant agriculture corporations.

Now, the Department of Agriculture budgets over $10 billion each year on post-sale subsidies that are supposed to make up for the low prices that big corporations and livestock giants pay farmers on the market. Meanwhile, Big Ag pockets the profit: one study shows industrial livestock giants, for example, have saved $35 billion over twenty years from buying feed below the cost of production.

We need a new approach that uses taxpayer money more wisely, provides stable access to food, and accounts for the complexities of the agriculture markets. Just like workers need a living wage, farmers need a fair price -- one that covers the costs they have to pay to produce their goods. We need to replace our failed system with a tried-and-true method that guarantees farmers that fair price and ends overproduction. Building on the successful model of the New Deal, my plan calls for a new supply management program -- which studies show would be billions cheaper for taxpayers than our current subsidy program, yet provide farm incomes that are higher.

Here’s how it will work. First, we guarantee farmers a price at their cost of production. To do that, the government would offer farmers a non-recourse loan that covers most of their costs of production -- essentially, an offer to buy their products at cost if a farmer can’t get a better price from a private purchaser on the market before the end of the loan period. Farmers can either repay the loan by selling their products or they can forfeit the products they used as collateral for the loan at the end of the loan period.

If the farmer does not sell those products to a private buyer during that time period, then the government will store the products in reserves. As supply comes off the market as a result, prices will rise. And if prices rise beyond a certain point, the government can release the supply from the reserves back onto the market, stabilizing prices once again. This mechanism guarantees farmers a fair price at a far lower cost than the current subsidy system.

In addition, to address overproduction, farmers will have the option of bidding acres of land currently used to produce commodities into conservation programs. USDA will offer attractive prices based on the environmental benefit that repurposing the land towards conservation programs would provide. This will provide farmers with the choice -- and revenue -- to diversify their farms, rather than face mounting pressure to produce more and more of the same. .

This approach has advantages beyond guaranteeing farmers a fair price for their goods. It gives us the tools to stabilize farm income where farmers aren’t getting prices at the cost of production, like commodity crops and dairy. It enhances our food security by giving the government access to reserves if needed -- a particularly important consideration as climate change continues to disrupt food production. It addresses our overproduction problem and helps reduce environmental damage. And it keeps consumer prices relatively stable.

It would also save taxpayers billions. Because a supply management program only pays for the amount of commodities that it takes off of the market, it would substantially reduce costs for taxpayers who, in the current subsidy approach, can end up paying for every single bushel and bale that farmers grow.

Paying farmers to fight climate change

To transition to a sustainable farm economy, we also need to diversify our agriculture sector. As President, I will lead a full-out effort to decarbonize the agricultural sector by investing in our farmers and giving them the tools, research, and training they need to transform the sector -- so that we can achieve the objectives of the Green New Deal to reach net-zero emissions by 2030.

This begins with paying farmers for embracing techniques that promote a sustainable future for all of us. Farmers are already adopting climate-friendly practices -- including proven and profitable techniques like cover crops. But today, there are far more farmers who want to join land conservation programs than there are funds available to support them. That’s because we have continually underfunded a tried-and-true program -- the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) -- that provides funding for farmers eager to transition to sustainable practices, and that delivers substantial returns to taxpayers.

My plan will make it economically feasible for farmers to be part of the climate change solution by increasing CSP’s payments for sustainable farming practices from around $1 billion today to $15 billion annually – and expanding the types of practices eligible for compensation – so that every farmer who wants to use their land to fight climate change can do so. This will put our future investment in conservation above the level we currently fund commodity programs. And I will support staff at USDA to empower them in the fight against climate change, from scientists in Washington all the way down to the county-level offices tailoring solutions to challenges in their local communities.

Research and innovation are also essential in supporting a transition to sustainable farming. I will dedicate resources from the $400 billion R&D commitment in my Green Manufacturing Plan towards innovations for decarbonizing the agriculture sector, including a farmer-led Innovation Fund that farmers can apply to use towards pioneering new methods of sustainable farming, like agroforestry.

Our land grant universities also have a critical role to play – but first, we need to reclaim our land grant universities from Big Ag and restore them to their core purpose of supporting our family farmers. My Administration will reinvest in our land grant universities and focus their agricultural efforts in part on evaluating farmers’ ideas to decarbonize the agricultural sector and training a new generation of farmers.

Take on Big Ag to level the playing field for family farmers

We also must take on Big Ag head on if we want to create a new farm economy. When Nixon's Secretary of Agriculture told farmers to “get big or get out,” he paved the way for the giant agribusinesses that have eroded America's rural communities and turned the agricultural sector into one of the largest polluters, all while making huge profits.

That ends now. I will use every tool at my disposal to level the playing field for family farmers and hold agribusinesses accountable for the damage they’ve wrought on our farmland.
• Break up Big Agribusinesses. Under my plan to level the playing field for America's farmers I’ll use every tool I have to break up big agribusinesses, including by reviewing — and reversing — anti-competitive mergers.

• Strengthen rules and enforcement under the Packers and Stockyards Act. In 1921, Congress passed the Packers & Stockyards Act (P&S Act) to protect independent farmers. But Trump has eliminated Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) -- the office responsible for upholding the P&S Act -- as an independent office. My administration will restore GIPSA and make it easier for farmers to bring suits against unfair practices -- including by clarifying that they do not have to prove harm across the entire sector to bring a claim.

• Make sure programs benefit independent family farmers, not the rich and powerful. Agribusinesses exploit loopholes to put taxpayer dollars that should be going towards family farmers into their own pockets instead. The Trump administration has handed over billions more into the pockets of the wealthiest through trade war bailouts. On average, the top 1% of recipients received over $180,000, and the bottom 80% percent received less than $5,000. -- all without Congressional authorization. I will prevent huge factory farms from accessing funds intended to benefit family farmers, like those for payment limitations and for programs like EQIP, and ban companies that violate labor and environmental standards from accessing funds, too.

• Hold Big Ag accountable for environmental abuses. Agribusinesses are the likely culprits for polluting hundreds of thousands of miles of rivers and streams and causing dead zones in our waters, including in the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. I will make agribusinesses pay the full costs of the environmental damage they wreak by closing the loopholes that CAFOs use to get away with polluting and beefing up enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts against them, including by working with state and local officials.
Build out local and regional food systems that support rural farmers and their communities

Because giant agribusinesses control entire supply chains, many small farmers today must send their products to huge packaging and distribution centers that are hundreds of miles away from their farms and from the end consumer. This deprives rural communities from access to produce, contributing to food deserts and obesity.

I will provide farmers and rural communities with the resources they need to build thriving local and regional food systems so that every community has access to healthy food -- and the billions in economic opportunities that come with it.

I will use the full power of federal and state procurement to ensure access to local, sustainable produce in all communities. My administration will expand the “Farm-to-School” program a hundredfold and turn it into a billion-dollar “Farm to People” program in which all federally-supported public institutions -- including military bases and hospitals -- will partner with local, independent farmers to provide fresh, local food.

To meet this additional demand, farmers will need access to local and regional supply chain infrastructure. USDA’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) currently invests $50M a year in local infrastructure-building projects -- which experts estimate falls far short of meeting the substantial demand. I will increase LAMP’s funding ten-fold, investing $500M a year over the next decade to fund food hubs, distribution centers, and points-of-sale that our rural and small town communities can use.

Create opportunities for diverse and beginning farmers

Farmers of color have experienced a long history of discrimination, some of it at the hands of the federal government. From 1910 to 1997, black farmers were stripped of 90% of black-owned farmland. They received a mere fraction of the value of the land they lost -- a staggering loss of wealth that is a major contributor to the racial wealth gap. My plan will end the policies that have perpetuated this discrimination and help rural families of color build wealth and sustainable livelihoods.

Addressing the systematic dispossession of land in communities of color, including Black farmers and Native American communities. Over the past century, Black farmers were stripped of 90% of black-owned farmland and received a mere fraction of the value of the land they lost – largely because they held the land as “heirs’ property,” an unstable and much-exploited form of ownership. I will establish programs to assist heirs’ property owners and make sure they retain access to their land, including building on successes in the 2018 Farm Bill to allow heirs’ property owners to present additional types of documentation to not only access USDA programs, but also other federal programs in FEMA and HUD. I will also fully fund the relending program enacted in the 2018 Farm Bill to expand support services for farmers of color, including legal and technical assistance to help farmers hold on to their land – and prioritize lending organizations operating in states that have enacted model legislation that protects heirs’ property ownership.

Native American communities have also experienced challenges related to fractionated land ownership. This problem was caused by a destructive federal policy from the late 1800s that allotted tribal lands held in common to individual tribal members and sold additional tribal lands to non-Native settlers and commercial interests. This policy eventually led to roughly two-thirds of all reservation lands being taken from tribes without compensation. Several generations later, individual tribal allotments are now co-owned by many people -- sometimes hundreds or thousands -- making it difficult to use the land or coordinate activities on it.

Government policy created this problem, and government must help fix it. That’s why I will expand funding for the Indian Tribal Land Acquisition Loan Program and the Highly Fractionated Indian Land Loan Program, USDA programs that help tribal governments acquire land and preserve it for future generations. And I will also push Congress to provide another infusion into the Trust Land Consolidation Fund..

Expand access to credit and land for new and diverse farmers. Women and farmers of color have been disproportionately excluded from accessing the credit and land they need to farm. The Farm Credit System was founded a century ago as a government-sponsored enterprise to provide credit for farmers -- but it has strayed from its central mission and instead is pocketing big profits. I will require FCS to allocate 10% of its $5 billion in annual profits towards supporting new and diverse farmers through regional lending mechanisms. I will make sure that farmers can access land, too, by stopping foreign interests from buying up American farmland and expanding the use of programs like the transition incentives program. Native American Community Development Financial Institutions also provide crucial access to credit in underbanked areas and for underbanked businesses, especially farmers. We should provide significant financial support to Native CDFIs.

Invest in protecting the civil rights of farmers of color. I will fully fund and staff USDA’s Office of Civil Rights and administrative law courts -- so that they have the resources necessary to resolve discrimination complaints at a reasonable pace. I will direct regular audits of USDA to ensure that it is not discriminating against farmers of color in issuing loans or subsidy grants. And I will increase the agency’s transparency by creating an online civil rights database that would regularly report on the complaint process.

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My plan will help create a new farm economy where family farmers have financial security and the freedom to do what they do best. Farmers of all backgrounds will finally have the economic freedom to pursue diverse, sustainable farming -- and get paid up front for doing so. Americans will have a steady and affordable supply of food. Kids in rural communities will have healthy lunches grown in their backyards and packaged at local food hubs run by small town entrepreneurs. Taxpayers won’t pay twice -- once at the grocery store and once through their taxes -- for overproduced commodities. We will replenish our soil and our water to chart a path towards a climate solution and achieve the goals of the Green New Deal.