History, Structure, and Programs
The RUS is one of three agencies (the other two are Rural Business-Cooperative Service and the Rural Housing Service) that are part of the USDA's Rural Development Bureau. The three agencies are headed by administrators, who each report to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development (the RUS administrator is the only one of the three who is Senate-confirmed).
The RUS administrator makes the primary policy and program decisions for the agency and is assisted by a borrower and program support staff that includes a financial services staff, an administrative liaison staff, and a program accounting services division. Because of the financial nature of the agency's work, the administrator and associated staff work closely with two other agencies that are not part of the USDA, the Federal Financing Bank (FFB)--and the former Rural Telephone Bank (RTB), which was dissolved in 2006. These banks provide the funds for many of the loan programs administered by the RUS.
The program functions of the RUS are divided into three operating units: water and waste, electric, and telecommunications, each led by an assistant administrator. The administrator and staff concentrate on the financial details of individual RUS projects, and these three operating units provide the engineering and technical personnel to plan and execute projects.
Read more about this topic: Rural Utilities Service
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