Interactive Features on www.usda.gov/recovery Provide Functionality for the American People to Share Their Recovery Stories, Provide Feedback on USDA Efforts

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today launched a new USDA Recovery Act website, including features and functionality that will allow people to learn about, share, and discuss American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in states and communities throughout the country. The website, www.usda.gov/recovery, also includes a blog, podcasts, RSS feeds, and other interactive tools so that folks from throughout the country can participate by sharing stories and providing feedback about how USDA stimulus funding are impacting their community.

"Recovery Act funds are creating jobs and stimulating economic growth in rural communities around the country, and this new website not only enables people to get detailed information on projects, but also share their own stories about how the Recovery Act is impacting their lives," said Vilsack. "USDA is an 'Every Day, Every Way' department, and www.usda.gov/recovery connects people to the wide variety of USDA's programs that are making a difference in communities across the country."

The 'Tell Your Story' feature of the site will provide a forum where the American people have a voice to share where and how they are seeing Recovery Act projects at work. People may choose to highlight local efforts to jumpstart the economy, save and create jobs, and ways they are building a stronger America.

Earlier this year, an innovative geospatial mapping web-function was launched that shows exactly where and how USDA is spending every dollar of Recovery Act funding across the nation. Earlier this week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) added their projects to this map. By launching this website, USDA is working to be a government that is open and transparent, responsive and accountable to the American people, in addition to providing a platform for participation.

USDA is working to implement provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to put Americans back to work and rejuvenate the nation's struggling economy. The Recovery Act provided USDA with nearly $28 billion in funding, which in turn represents nearly $52 billion in program funding through a host of guaranteed loan programs. USDA is using this funding to ensure that farmers continue to contribute to local economies, to take steps to build and preserve critical infrastructure in communities across America, and to implement new resource conservation measures.