Congressman Dave Camp represents the people of the 4th Congressional District of Michigan, which spans from Owosso to Greenville and northward to Traverse City and the Leelanau peninsula. Camp is the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, which is one of the oldest and most powerful committees in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In his leadership role, Camp is one of the most influential policymakers in Washington, DC, helping to set the nation’s economic, health care and social welfare policies. His committee has sole jurisdiction over tax policy and oversees tariff and trade laws, Medicare, Social Security, and welfare and unemployment programs.

Representative Camp contacted our office to make sure we and our clients were aware of the many Rural Development Loan and Grant programs that were available to folks throughout Michigan. These loan and grant programs are available to families, farms, businesses, non profits, and public bodies like municipal and county governments.

The Development Programs include:

1. A Housing Program with available funds to repair, improve, winterize, construct, or purchase homes.

2. A Business and Cooperative Development Program with funding for acquisition, start-up and expansion. There are also monies available to provide economic planning for rural communities, technical assistance for rural entrepreneurs and economics development officials, as well as land acquisitions and construction of new businesses and community development projects.  Funding for project costs for renewable energy and efficiency projects such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and other renewable energy sources is also available.

3. Community Programs (Utilities and Community Facilities) with loans and grants for waste and water disposal, waste and water pre-development, solid waste management and the construction, equipment purchase and operation of facilities for fire and rescue.

4. Telecommunication Programs to assist with funding of electric and telecommunication programs for non-profits, cooperative associations and public bodies, as well as development and deployment of distance learning, telemedicine and broadband systems.

At Smith & Johnson, we are uniquely positioned to assist governmental entities, non profits, businesses and individuals who are looking to take advantage of the loan and grant opportunities made available through the hard work by Representative Camp.

Here’s  video of USDA Under Secretary of rural Development Dallas Tonsager discussing some of the challenges and opportunities facing the rural communities on a go forward.

Feel free to contact Louis Smith at 231.946.0700 or lsmith@smith-johnson.com with any questions or concerns about these programs.