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U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced for the first time Tuesday, June 20, a new Rebuild Rural America Act, which she hopes will be folded into the federal Farm Bill, in an effort to support infrastructure improvements and economic growth in rural communities.

Gillibrand’s announcement was held at the HUB, a business incubator located in downtown Hamilton, N.Y., that provides support for small businesses and new ideas in partnership with 51����’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

“Smaller rural areas like this play such an important role in this state,” Gillibrand said to a crowd gathered at the HUB Tuesday morning. “The programs you offer through the Partnership for Community Development are a great example of what the federal government should be doing in communities like this... We can make a narrow and inflexible system respond to rural community needs.”

Gillibrand’s proposed bill includes a new $50 billion Rural Future Partnership Fund to provide multi-year, flexible block grants to support regional revitalization. Rural regions that work together to become certified would automatically receive a commitment of five-year, renewable funding to support progress on the region’s locally developed goals and objectives.

The proposed funding has a wide range of possible uses, including comprehensive planning; main street revitalization and critical infrastructure; support for entrepreneurship; establishment of new connections between rural and urban areas; support for public services, including child-care centers, public schools, libraries, and local healthcare; job training and placement; and disaster response preparation and resilience.

The announcement was met with open arms by local political leaders, including the Madison County supervisor, the mayor of the village of Hamilton, and the town of Hamilton supervisor. 

“Senator Gillibrand’s bill is an important effort to provide much-needed technical support to Madison County,” said Town Supervisor Eve Ann Shwartz. 

Partnership for Community Development Executive Director Jocelyn Gavitt said Gillibrand’s proposal is exactly the kind of investment needed on the local level to help support new business development and infrastructure improvements.

“Without a functioning main street, rural committees lose their core,” said Gavitt.