Rural Affairs

By Jamie Saloom, Assistant Chief Counsel Broadband is a critical input for small businesses, and the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) has consistently supported policies and regulations that reduce barriers to broadband deployment. For…

Small businesses are important to rural counties. They operate 84.8% of establishments and employ 54.3% of workers. However, rural employment by small businesses has grown more slowly than total employment. Between 2012 and 2019, rural…

By Regional Advocate, Jennifer Clark Have you ever tasted a fresh date picked right from the tree? I got to do just that when I visited Sam Cobb Farms, located in Desert Hot Springs, CA, in January. Sam Cobb personally showed me around…

On April 6, 2022, Deputy Chief Counsel Major Clark testified before the House Small Business Committee, Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development in a hybrid hearing titled, “SBA Management Review: Office of…

Rural areas lag urban areas in gaining high-speed internet access.  A new report from the Office of Advocacy, “Accessing the Internet in Rural America,” analyzes recent survey data on subscriptions to the internet through three popular…

By Apollo Fuhriman, Region 10 Advocate In April, I met with county council members from Union and Wallowa Counties in Northeast Oregon. These elected officials described several significant long-term issues arising from federally owned…