2016 presidential candidates on rural policy

2016 Presidential Election
Date: November 8, 2016

Candidates
Winner: Donald Trump (R)
Hillary Clinton (D) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates

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See below what the 2016 presidential candidates and their respective party platforms said about rural policy.

Interested in reading more? Ballotpedia also covered what the candidates said about energy and environmental policy, agriculture and food policy, climate change, labor and employment, and budgets.

OVERVIEW OF CANDIDATE POSITIONS
Hillary Clinton's plan to strengthen rural communities included encouraging investment in rural small businesses through simplified regulations for community banks, improving infrastructure, and expanding development tax credits. Clinton also called for increasing funding for new farmers, promoting clean energy leadership, and improving educational opportunities.
Donald Trump supported the Renewable Fuel Standard and criticized the Bureau of Land Management's regulation of public lands.
Jill Stein expressed support for the ethical treatment of farm animals and sustainable and local agriculture.
Gary Johnson expressed support for a free market approach to energy production and supported an agriculture stewardship grant program while governor or New Mexico.

Democratic candidate

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton unveiled her plan to support coal-dependent communities on November 12, 2015. She proposed repurposing mine lands and power plant sites for forestry, agriculture, and manufacturing; electrifying dams on federal land; and supporting local food and agriculture businesses in Central Appalachia.^[1]

On August 26, 2015, Clinton introduced her plan to strengthen rural communities with a speech in Iowa and a corresponding white paper on her website.^[2]^[3]^[4] Her proposal included the following actions:
- Increase the number of Rural Business Investment Companies to develop more jobs and build "capital networks."^[3]
- Simplify regulations for community banks in rural areas to facilitate the funding of small businesses.^[3]
- Increase access to high-speed broadband technology.^[3]
- Permanently establish and expand the New Markets Tax Credit, which "was designed to increase the flow of capital to businesses and low income communities by providing a modest tax incentive to private investors."^[3]^[5]
- Strengthen U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant programs, like the USDA StrikeForce Initiative, increasing their flexibility and ability to target rural development programs.^[3]
- Double funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program and work to decrease student debt through the New College Compact.^[3]
- Double funding for the Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Local Food Promotion Program to strengthen local food systems.
- Improve the targeted distribution of federal resources for disaster assistance.^[3]
- Enact comprehensive immigration reform that acknowledges the contribution of immigrants and migrant workers to agriculture.^[3]
- Fully fund the Environmental Quality Incentive Programs and initiatives like the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.^[3]
- Strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard.^[3]
- Encourage the installation of 500 million solar panels and the production of sufficient clean renewable energy to power every home in the U.S. within a decade through the Clean Energy Challenge.^[3]
- Double funding for Early Head Start to increase access to preschool education for rural children.^[3]
- Improve access to healthcare through telemedicine and rural health clinics.^[3]

Clinton voted in favor of an amendment to HR 2419 - Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, that would have limited the amount of subsidies that married couples deriving a portion of their income from farming or related activities could receive.^[6]

Clinton voted in favor of the conference report on HR 2744 - Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA Appropriations Act of 2006. This law established appropriations for the Agricultural Research Service, Farm Service Agency, Rural Community Advancement Program, Rural Electrification and Telecommunications Loans Program, and Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program.^[7]

Clinton voted against an amendment to HR 4939 - Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2006, that would have removed a $6 million subsidy for sugarcane growers in Hawaii.^[8]
Read more of Hillary Clinton's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform on rural policy

“

Investing in Rural America

We will work to build a stronger rural and agricultural economy. Democrats will increase funding to support the next generation of farmers and ranchers, with particular attention given to promoting environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. We will encourage programs to protect and enhance family farms, a cherished way of life for millions of Americans. We will expand local food markets and regional food systems and provide a focused safety net to assist family operations that need support during challenging times. And we will promote clean energy leadership and collaborative stewardship of our natural resources, while expanding opportunities in rural communities across America. While the EPA’s new Agricultural Worker Protection Standard goes a long way to protect farmworkers from harmful pesticides and herbicides, we recognize there is a lot more we can do. The Democratic Party supports stronger agricultural worker protections including regulation of work hours, elimination of child labor, ensuring adequate housing for migrant workers, and sanitary facilities in the field.

Democrats will spur investment to power the rural economy. We support strengthening rural water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure to make rural businesses more competitive. We will expand access to equity capital for businesses and expand the New Markets Tax Credit to better serve rural small businesses. We will promote collaborative stewardship of our natural resources, while developing clean fuels that will grow our economy, lower our energy bills, combat climate change, and make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. We will provide assistance to producers who conserve and improve natural resources on their farms and double loan guarantees that support the bio-based economy’s dynamic growth.^[9]

”

—2016 Democratic Party Platform^[10]

Republican candidate

Donald Trump

Speaking at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on January 19, 2016, Donald Trump expressed support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), saying, "I will encourage Congress to be cautious in attempting to change any part of the RFS. Energy independence is a requirement if America is to become great again."^[11]

On January 7, 2016, Trump wrote an op-ed in The Reno Gazette-Journal to criticize the Bureau of Land Management's control of significant portions of Nevada's land. He wrote, "In the rural areas, those who for decades have had access to public lands for ranching, mining, logging and energy development are forced to deal with arbitrary and capricious rules that are influenced by special interests that profit from the D.C. rule-making and who fill the campaign coffers of Washington politicians."^[12]

In an October 2015 interview, Trump said "eminent domain is wonderful" because of the economic opportunities it creates. He explained, "If you have a factory, where you have thousands of jobs, you need eminent domain, it’s called economic development. Now you’re employing thousands of people and you’re able to build a factory, you’re able to build an Apple computer center, where thousands of people can work. You can do that, or you can say, 'Let the man have his house.'”^[13]

As part of his plan to reform the Veterans Administration (VA) in October 2015, Trump stated he would "embed satellite VA clinics within hospitals and other care facilities in rural and other underserved areas. This step will ensure veterans have easy access to care and local hospitals and care facilities can handle the influx of patients without backlogs while tapping the specialized knowledge of VA health specialists."^[14]
Read more of Donald Trump's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Republican Party Platform on rural policy

“

Building the Future: Technology

The digital revolution has transformed how we work, learn, sell, shop, socialize — in short, how we live.

...

Government must keep pace with the technology deployed in the private sector. There is an urgent need to modernize the federal government’s legacy systems and to recruit the skilled technical personnel who can advance the adoption of innovation in the public sector. At the cost of billions, the current Administration has done little to advance our goal of universal broadband coverage. That hurts rural America, where farmers, ranchers, and small business people need connectivity to operate in real time with the world’s producers. Almost ten million Americans have given up wired broadband connections in just the last two years alone, and millions more have never been connected in the first place.

We encourage public-private partnerships to provide predictable support for connecting rural areas so that every American can fully participate in the global economy. ^[9]

”

—2016 Republican Party Platform^[15]

Green candidate

Jill Stein

In its 2016 party platform, the Green Party advocated for the humane treatment of animals. Stein tweeted about her support for protecting farm animals from abuse on May 7, 2016. She wrote, "We must end the abuse of animals, including farm animals, & strengthen our enforcement of existing laws."^[16]
On May 5, 2016, Stein expressed support for sustainable agriculture. She tweeted, "We must practice agriculture that replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; & live in ways that respect natural systems."^[17]
Read more of Jill Stein's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Green Party Platform on rural policy

“

G. Land Use

OUR POSITION

Land use policies must promote sustainable development and respect ecology.

Unlimited growth on a finite planet cannot be sustained.

There is a fundamental difference between growth and development and between quantity and quality. Rather than exploiting the Earth for short-term gain, Greens believe in living in sustainable balance with it. Land use practices must be founded on stewardship of the Earth, to honor the interconnected and interdependent nature of all life, to respect ecosystems and other species, while at the same time providing for human needs in a responsible and sustainable way.

Only an economics that is based upon environmental health is sustainable.

GREEN SOLUTIONS

Land ownership and property rights

1. Insist that every property right has an implied responsibility to provide for the common good of people, places and the planet.

2. Encourage the formation and operation of cooperatives, non-profits, land trusts, co-housing, and other forms of communal and public interest management of land and resources.

...

Rural land use

8. Preserve and expand rural land use patterns that promote open space, healthy ecosystems, wildlife corridors and the ecologically sustainable agriculture. Protect and expand large continuous tracts of public and private land for wildlife habitat and biological diversity, to permit healthy, self-managing wildlife populations to exist in a natural state, and to promote complete ecosystems.

9. Promote livable rural communities to minimize urban migration.

10. Transition rural communities into sustainable relationships with ranching, agriculture, forestry and mining.

11. Reward farmers and ranchers for the ecosystem services they provide on private and public lands. Favor policies that promote mall-scale farmers and ranchers over large-scale corporate agriculture and ranching.

...

I. Agriculture

Food is a necessity and a fundamental human right. All people have a right to adequate, safe, nutritional and high quality food; and those who grow it have a right to a fair return for their labor.

Our current food system is dominated by centralized agribusiness and unsustainable practices that threaten our food security, degrade the environment, destroy communities, and squeeze out family farmers. Our so-called cheap food comes at the expense of the exploitation of our farmers along with the oppression of third world peoples, inhumane treatment of animals, pollution of air and water, and degradation of our land.

The agricultural system for the 21st Century must provide a high quality of life for farmers, nutritious and safe food for consumers, and reward farming methods that enhance the quality of water, soil, and air, and the beauty of the landscape.

According to the 2006 United Nations "Livestock's Long Shadow" report and the World Watch Institute's 2009 article "Livestock and Climate Change," the livestock sector is one of the most significant contributors to our most serious environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.

1. We encourage legislation that assists new farmers and ranchers, that promotes widespread ownership to small and medium-sized farms and ranches, and that revitalizes and repopulates rural communities and promotes sustainable development and stewardship.

2. We support new farming and growing opportunities and urge the inclusion of non-traditional crops and foods in farm programs.

3. We advocate regionalizing our food system and decentralizing agriculture lands, production, and distribution. We encourage public support for producer and consumer cooperatives, community kitchens, Community Supported Agriculture, urban agriculture, and community farms and gardens.

4. We advocate the creation of a Food Policy Council composed of farmers, including small farmers and consumers, to oversee the USDA and all food policies at the local, state, and national level. This council should adjudicate conflicts of interest that arise when industries police themselves.

5. We support the highest organic standards (California Organic Certification Standards, for example). We advocate shifting price supports and government subsidies to organic food products so that they will be competitive with chemically produced food. We believe that everyone, not just the wealthy, must be able to afford safe and healthy food.

6. We urge the banning of sewage sludge or hazardous wastes as fertilizer, and of irradiation and the use of genetic engineering in all food production.

7. We would phase-out man-made pesticides and artificial fertilizers. We support Integrated Pest Management techniques as an alternative to chemical-based agriculture.

8. Food prices ought to reflect the true cost of food, including the health effects of eating processed foods, antibiotic resistance, pesticide effects on growers and consumers, soil erosion, water pollution, pesticide drift, and air pollution. Indirect costs (loss of rural communities, a heavily subsidized transportation system, cost of the military necessary to defend cheap oil, and reduced security), though more difficult to calculate, should be factored into the cost of our highly centralized food system.

9. World hunger can best be addressed by food security—being self-sufficient for basic needs. Overpopulation is largely a consequence, not simply a cause, of poverty and environmental destruction, and all remedial actions must address living standards and food security through sustainable production.

10. Because of the tremendous amount of energy used in agriculture, we support farm subsidies to encourage the transition from dirty fuels to clean renewable energy as one of the most effective ways to move our country to a sustainable future.

11. We support legislation that provides energy and fuel conservation through rotational grazing, cover-crop rotations, nitrogen-fixing systems, and fuel-free, clean renewable energy development on the farm.

12. We encourage states to promote net-metering to make decentralized energy production economically viable.

13. Animal farming must be practiced in ethically and environmentally sustainable ways. We support a rapid phase out of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) not only because of their adverse impact on the environment, but also on food safety (e.g. disease epidemics), public health, and animal protection.

14. Applying the Precautionary Principle to genetically modified organisms (GMOs), we support a moratorium until safety can be demonstrated by independent (non-corporate funded), long-term tests for food safety, genetic drift, resistance, soil health, effects on non-target organisms, and cumulative interactions.

15. Most importantly, we support the growing international demand to eliminate patent rights for genetic material, life forms, gene-splicing techniques, and bio-chemicals derived from them. This position is defined by the Treaty to Share the Genetic Commons, which is available through the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The implications of corporate takeover and the resulting monopolization of genetic intellectual property by the bioengineering industry are immense.

16. We support mandatory, full-disclosure food and fiber labeling. A consumer has the right to know the contents in their food and fiber, how they were produced, and where they come from. Labels should address the presence of GMOs, use of irradiation, pesticide application (in production, transport, storage, and retail), and the country of origin.

17. We support the restoration of farmlands to black families who have been discriminated against and who have lost, or are about to lose, their farms as a result. Greens will work for a meaningful remedy to restore black farmers' unencumbered ownership of their land.^[9]

”

—2016 Green Party Platform^[18]

Libertarian candidate

Gary Johnson

In late August 2011, David Baucom of The Objective Standard interviewed Gary Johnson in New Hampshire. Baucom asked, "Americans need an abundance of energy to fuel their industrial and high-tech lives. But the U.S. government is increasingly thwarting the production of energy by regulating the coal, oil, and nuclear industries. What, in your view, is the road to a future of abundant energy? And, as president, what will you do to put America on that road?" Johnson responded, "Well, the key being free market approaches to energy, period. And the government could in fact very much accommodate that free market road to energy. So in this case, removing the uncertainty when it comes to cap and trade, carbon emissions, when it comes to coal, a free market approach to nuclear energy. I don’t know [that] any new nuclear plant gets built, given [that] no one’s going to underwrite the liability. A free market approach to oil, allowing us to responsibly drill for oil in our own geographic boundaries. You know, in a fifteen-year period, it’s possible we would be able to produce 50 percent of what we consume. That’s significant. But we should be pursuing that. And when it comes to wind and solar and biofuel (and I don’t include ethanol in biofuel), there’s a lot of exciting possibility out there. Government has stepped in; it’s subsidized that production. We’ve made a big bet when it comes to this “green space,” I call it. But the assumption, or the presumption, of our investment in the green space is that every five years, the green space becomes 100 percent more efficient. That’s not happening. But if it were to happen, in fifteen years we could be looking at the green space providing 15 percent of our energy needs, which is not insignificant. But, obviously, it needs to be a balanced approach when it comes to energy, and, in my opinion, free-market-based."
- Baucom followed up by asking Johnson what he thought about ethanol. Johnson replied, "I think it takes more energy to produce ethanol than what it produces. So I would not be in favor of continuing ethanol subsidies."^[19]
In August 2001, while governor of New Mexico, Johnson signed a resolution in support of a national block grant program for agricultural stewardship. In 2002, Congress approved the program under which the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides states with grant money to "address threats to soil, air, water, and wildlife."^[20]
Read more of Gary Johnson's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on rural policy

“

2.2 Environment

Competitive free markets and property rights stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect our environment and ecosystems. Private landowners and conservation groups have a vested interest in maintaining natural resources. Governments are unaccountable for damage done to our environment and have a terrible track record when it comes to environmental protection. Protecting the environment requires a clear definition and enforcement of individual rights and responsibilities regarding resources like land, water, air, and wildlife. Where damages can be proven and quantified in a court of law, restitution to the injured parties must be required.

2.3 Energy and Resources

While energy is needed to fuel a modern society, government should not be subsidizing any particular form of energy. We oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production.^[9]

”

—2016 Libertarian Party Platform^[21]

Withdrawn candidates

Democrats

Republicans

Recent news

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2016 presidential candidates on rural policy - Google News

Footnotes

[1] Hillary Clinton for President, "Hillary Clinton’s Plan for Revitalizing Coal Communities," November 12, 2015

[2] The Des Moines Register, "Clinton seeks to spark investment in rural America," August 28, 2015

[ClintonRural-3] 3.00 ^3.01 ^3.02 ^3.03 ^3.04 ^3.05 ^3.06 ^3.07 ^3.08 ^3.09 ^3.10 ^3.11 ^3.12 ^3.13 TIME, "Hillary Clinton Calls For Greater Investment in Rural America," August 26, 2015

[4] Hillary Clinton for President, "Hillary Clinton’s Plan for a Vibrant Rural America," August 26, 2015

[5] New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, "New Markets Tax Credit Fact Sheet," accessed January 20, 2016

[6] Congress.gov, "Senate: Text of Amendments," November 17, 2007

[7] Senate.gov, "Roll Call for H.R. 2744 Conference Report," accessed January 13, 2016

[8] Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.3617 to H.R.4939," accessed January 13, 2016

[quotedisclaimer-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[10] Democratic Party, "The 2016 Democratic Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016

[11] Agriculture.com, "Trump Expresses Support for RFS, Biofuel Industry," January 19, 2016

[12] The Reno Gazette-Journal, "Trump: Nevada, US need a president who obeys rule of law," January 7, 2016

[13] National Review, "Donald Trump: ‘Eminent Domain Is Wonderful.'" October 7, 2015

[14] Donald Trump for President, "Veterans Administration Reforms That Will Make America Great Again," accessed January 19, 2016

[15] GOP.com, "Republican Platform 2016," July 18, 2016

[16] Twitter, "Dr. Jill Stein," May 7, 2016

[17] Twitter, "Dr. Jill Stein," May 5, 2016

[18] The Green Party of the United States, "Platform," August 6, 2016

[19] The Objective Standard, "An Interview with Governor Gary Johnson on What He Would Do as President," Fall 2011

[20] The Fence Post, "Ag politics: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson takes stances on GMOs, Farm Bill and immigration," June 7, 2016

[21] Libertarian Party, "Libertarian Party Platform," May 27, 2016

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2016 presidential candidates on rural policy

Contents

Democratic candidate

Hillary Clinton

Republican candidate

Donald Trump

Green candidate

Jill Stein

Libertarian candidate

Gary Johnson

Withdrawn candidates

Recent news

See also

Footnotes

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