President Barack Obama isn’t coming to Tuesday’s rural economic forum empty-handed.

Amid a flurry of new initiatives that don’t involve new federal spending, Obama will announce a set of job programs for rural areas recommended by his White House Rural Council during his visit Aug. 16 in Iowa, USA Today reported.  

The initiatives, to be announced during the White House Rural Economic Forum being held today at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, will focus on helping rural small businesses access capital, expanding job search and training services, and increasing access to health-care workers and technology in rural areas.

Among the initiatives:
– Committing $350 million in U.S. Small Business Administration funding to rural small businesses during the next five years.
– Launching a series of conferences to connect private equity and venture capital investors with rural start-ups.
– Creating capital marketing teams to pitch federal funding opportunities to private investors interested in making investments in rural areas.
– Making job search information available at 2,800 U.S. Department of Agriculture offices nationwide.
– Making federal loans available to help more than 1,300 critical access hospitals recruit additional staff.
– Helping rural hospitals purchase software and hardware to implement health information technology.

“These are tough times for a lot of Americans, including those who live in our rural communities,” Obama said. “That’s why my administration has put a special focus on helping rural families find jobs, grow their businesses and regain a sense of economic security.”