by Phillip Brasher
Members of President Trump?s Cabinet and senior officials from the White House and throughout the federal government today pledged to forge agreement on ways to boost the farm economy and address economic and social challenges across rural America.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, hosting the first meeting of the cross-government Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, promised that the interagency effort would produce a ?serious plan? for changing policies, regulations and laws that inhibit economic growth.
?If you know anything about our president, it was not an executive suggestion? to produce the plan, ?it was an executive order,? Perdue said, flanked by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Housing Secretary Ben Carson and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, among others.
?The president has moved swiftly ? to make sure that he lets everyone know that agriculture is important and rural prosperity is important,? Perdue said.
The task force?s assignment will be carried out by working groups focusing on four issue areas: quality of life; rural workforce needs; innovation, technology and data; and economic development, Perdue said.
The plan that the working groups will produce will include ways to measure whether the recommendations are successful in producing improvements, Perdue told reporters after the meeting. He did not say when the final report is due.
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