News
April 2, 2009
harkin announces more than $100 million in recovery act support for rural iowa mortgages
Washington, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced today $100,485,840 in guarantees of mortgages for homeowners in Iowa’s rural areas. The funding to support the guarantees will come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Economic Recovery Package. These loans are designed to encourage economic development and home ownership opportunities in nonurban areas. Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee, which funds such initiatives and urged the inclusion of this funding in the Economic Recovery bill.
“Due to the recent economic crisis, it has become increasingly difficult for many rural residents to get home loans,” said Harkin. “By providing these loans we can help create jobs, spur economic development and make the dream of home ownership a reality for families throughout rural Iowa.”
USDA’s housing programs are designed to improve the quality of life for rural Americans by ensuring that they have access to safe, well-built and affordable homes. The programs finance new or improved housing for very low- to moderate-income families and individuals in rural areas, defined as non-urban areas with a population of 50,000 or less.
