THE WHITE HOUSE
                  Office of the Vice President
 _______________________________________________________Release No. wh07.99
For Immediate Release                                  Contacts:
Thursday, August 5, 1999                  White House (202) 456-7035
                                            U.S.D.A.  (202) 720-4623

         VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE ANNOUNCES $132 MILLION 
                 FOR RURAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Effort Supports President Clinton's New Markets Initiative with 2,600 Jobs

     Washington, DC -- Vice President Al Gore announced today a series of
actions that will result in the U.S. government investing more than $132
million for the creation or expansion of rural businesses across the United
States. These investments in rural business should create or save more than
2,600 rural jobs, most of them in areas of high unemployment.

     "As the 20th century nears its end, our nation is enjoying near-record
low unemployment levels and all-time high homeownership rates," Vice President
Gore said. "But we need to ensure that we extend that prosperity to all
sectors of our economy. That is why today, I am pleased to announce our
government is targeting rural development programs to our nation's depressed
rural communities to help them create or save jobs."
     
     The business assistance package includes $65.5 million in loans being
made to 27 rural businesses through USDA's Business and Industry Guaranteed
Loan Program. Under this program, a rural business seeking start-up or
expansion capital first secures financing from a local lender, who in turn
secures a guarantee for up to 90 percent of the loan from USDA Rural
Development. 

     "This program not only reduces the lenders' risk, it also allows them to
help more rural businesses, thereby stimulating rural America's economy,"
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said.
     
     The largest USDA loan guarantee announced today is for $20 million,
loaned to the Pacific Northwest Sugar Co., a cooperative owned by about 65
sugar beet growers. The co-op will use the loan as working capital to operate
a sugar processing plant at Moses Lake, Wash., which it refurbished last year.
The plant employs 300 people in a town where employment levels have never
recovered from the closure of the sugar plant nearly 20 years ago.

     In addition to the guaranteed loans, USDA is also making $3.3 million in
direct Business and Industry Program loans to support rural business.

     The Vice President also announced an expanded pilot program under USDA's
Intermediary Relending Program, which should result in an additional $50
million for rural business development. Through this program, USDA supports
the development of rural businesses and community development projects by
providing funds to intermediaries -- which include public bodies, nonprofit
corporations, cooperatives and Indian tribes. The intermediaries use the funds
to operate revolving loan funds that provide money to local businesses.
 
     Under the expanded pilot program, intermediaries will be eligible to
sell the intermediary loan securities to third parties. This will enable them
to recapitalize their revolving loan fund so that additional financial
assistance can be made to other business projects.  

     "This pilot program fully supports our reinventing government
initiative, in that it will provide more economic opportunity without
requiring new federal budget outlays," said Vice President Gore. "This change
will generate at least $50 million in additional business development funds
for rural projects without any additional cost to taxpayers."

     The Vice President also announced that 31 Rural Business Enterprise
Grants worth $2.7 million have been awarded to public bodies, nonprofit
corporations and Indian tribes to support development of small business in
rural areas. One of the larger grants is $199,000 awarded to the Kentucky
Highlands Investment Corp., which will use the money to create a revolving
loan fund to support business development in an area that includes a rural
Enterprise Zone.     

     A total of $8.4 million in loans and grants under various USDA Rural
Development programs are being invested to support the Pacific
Northwest/Alaska Tongass National Forest Initiative, which is aimed at
creating new business and jobs in portions of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and
Northern California negatively impacted by restrictions on logging. Oregon
received one of the larger grants, $199,000 to help the Wallowa Band Nez Perce
Indians develop a tribal interpretive center as part of its homelands
development effort, which tribal leaders hope will stimulate economic
development around Wallowa, Ore.   
     
     USDA also is providing $4 million in zero-interest loans and grants to
rural utility cooperatives under its Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant
program. Utility co-ops  will in turn  use the money to finance rural business
and community development in their service areas. Every dollar loaned by USDA
for the program leverages an additional $5 to $6 from other public or private
sources.

     Among the 8 grants issued under this program is $330,000 awarded to the
Three Notch Electric Membership Corporation in Donalsonville, Ga., which will,
in turn, loan the money to help renovate an emergency room in the Miller
County Hospital in Colquitt, Ga. Among the four loan recipients is
Carteret-Craven Electric Membership Corp. in Morehead City, N.C. The
electric co-op received $450,000, which it will lend to Parker Marine
Enterprises Inc. to expand a boat manufacturing plant in Beaufort, N.C. The
addition will allow the firm to roughly double production, to about 1,200
boats annually, and will add 15 to 20 new jobs to the current workforce of
112. 

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