DES MOINES, Iowa., Oct. 10, 2011 - Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined business and community leaders to discuss the Administration's strategy to strengthen the U.S. economy and to highlight what passage of the American Jobs Act will mean for Iowans.

"The American Jobs Act provides common-sense steps we can take right now to put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans, without adding a dime to the deficit," said Vilsack. "In Iowa, this Act will provide a tax cut for over 60,000 businesses, support the jobs of 4,100 teachers and first responders and immediately provide over 5,000 construction workers a job improving highways and other critical infrastructure. Iowa families will receive a tax cut of around$1,580."

Secretary Vilsack also highlighted the need for quick passage of the pending trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea. The agreements were sent to Congress this week and are awaiting approval.

"Full implementation of all three agreements will help farmers and ranchers add more than $2.3 billion a year to the American economy, which will support nearly 20,000 jobs, said Vilsack. "The Korean agreement alone will increase agricultural trade by $1.9 billion and have a greater economic impact that the last nine trade agreements combined."

Full details on the three trade agreements and comprehensive fact sheets on how the agreements will benefit Iowa are available at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/.

• U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement Iowa Fact Sheet
• U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Iowa Fact Sheet
• U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Iowa Fact Sheet

The Obama Administration is calling on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act immediately. The Act has five components that will create jobs and strengthen Iowa's economy:

Tax Cuts to Help America's Small Businesses Hire and Grow

• 60,000

Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

• $385,900,000 in Iowa that could support a minimum of approximately 5,000
• $287,200,000 in funds to Iowa to support up to 4,100
• $132,600,000 in funding to support as many as 1,700
• $56,700,000

Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs.

• 34,000
• Alongside these reforms, the President is reiterating his call to extend unemployment insurance, preventing 7,300
• 800 adults and 2,300

Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family

• $51,000, will receive a tax cut of around $1,580.

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2011 - TOMORROW, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will give remarks and hold a press conference on the American Jobs Act and efforts to strengthen the economy in Iowa.  The purpose of the American Jobs Act is to put more people back to work, put more money in the pockets of working Americans, and do so without adding to the deficit. In Iowa, without adding a dime to the deficit, this Act will provide a tax cut for over 60,000 businesses, support the jobs of 4,100 teachers and first responders and immediately provide over 5,000 construction workers a job improving highways and other critical infrastructure. A typical household in Iowa will receive a tax cut of around $1,580.

On Saturday morning, Secretary Vilsack is hosting a White House Business Council Meeting with business, community and agricultural leaders to explore ways federal, state and local officials can work together to improve economic conditions and create jobs.

Friday, October 7, 2011

3:00  p.m. CST

WHAT: Secretary Vilsack to host a press conference on the American Jobs Act and efforts to strengthen the economy in Iowa.

WHERE: Riverdale City Hall (Across from Alcoa Plant)

110 Manor Drive

Riverdale, Iowa

Saturday, October 8, 2011

11:30 a.m. CST

WHAT: Following the morning White House Business Council Meeting, Secretary Vilsack to host a press conference on the American Jobs Act and efforts to strengthen the economy in Iowa.

WHERE: CSPS

1^st Floor Gallery

1103 3^rd St. SE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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WASHINGTON, April 15, 2011 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Shenandoah, Iowa, today where he spoke about building a cleaner, safer, and more secure energy future - one that ultimately breaks our dependence on foreign oil and moves our nation toward a clean energy economy that creates jobs and keeps America competitive.

At the grand opening of the BioProcess Algae Bioreactor Project - a facility owned by Green Plains Renewable Energy - Vilsack said USDA was focused on stimulating growth, creating jobs, and setting in place a framework for a robust future for the rural economy, which includes support of next-generation renewable energy, such as alternative feedstocks.

"USDA is helping our nation develop the next generation of biofuels to grow jobs and generate energy from new, homegrown sources," said Vilsack. "In the past two years, USDA has worked to help our nation develop a national biofuels economy and make that vision a reality. This cutting-edge facility here in Iowa, and others like it across rural America, is using waste heat, water and carbon dioxide from ethanol production and looking at advanced technologies which could eventually be used as energy. It is the kind of innovation we need to build an economy that continues to grow and out-compete the rest of the world."

President Obama is committed to reducing our net imports of oil by one-third by 2025. The United States holds only 2 percent of proven oil resources, and we consume about 25 percent of world's supply. The production of cleaner and more efficient fuels, produced domestically, will help to make America's energy supply more secure by permanently reducing our dependence on oil. USDA is doing research into new biofuel production methods and has established five regional research centers working on the science necessary to ensure biofuels can be produced profitably from a diverse range of feedstocks. And USDA is offering support to build the infrastructure needed to deliver the fuel to consumers at the gas station.

In Shenandoah, Vilsack also spoke at the Shenandoah Chamber and Industry Association's Annual Meeting, where shared rural America's vision for a strong economic future that relies on home-grown energy to power America's cars and trucks. The domestic biofuels industry, said Vilsack, has produced hundreds of refineries, pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the American economy and created hundreds of thousands of jobs in our rural communities.