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Vilsack announces infrastructure investments during tours in Illinois today

Ag Secretary Vilsack is in the Quad City area today with a schedule of tours and announcements focused on rural infrastructure improvement.

The USDA has set aside another $1.15 billion dollars for rural broadband improvements through the Reconnect Program.  On November 24^th the agency will begin accepting applications for loans and grants to expand availability of broadband in rural areas, prioritizing projects serving low density rural areas with slow internet speeds. USDA is also making a $50 million investment towards 105 projects in 27 states through their Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack will make the formal announcement at Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, IL today during a tour of their newly renovated emergency department which was partially funded by a USDA loan.

Vilsack, along with Representative Cheri Bustos, will then travel to Rock Island for a briefing with the Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District and a tour of Lock and Dam 15 on the upper Mississippi River to see first-hand the importance and need for investment in inland waterway infrastructure improvements.