[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16465-S16466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RURAL LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, earlier this morning I joined my good 
friends of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. to kick off LISC's new 
rural LISC initiative. I was pleased to be joined by Roger Young, the 
commissioner for the Eastern District of Audrain County, MO; David 
Thayer of Central Missouri Counties HDC; and David Stanley, chairman 
and CEO of Payless Cashways, Inc., who support this initiative. I thank 
them for their tireless efforts in support of finding new ways to 
leverage funding through public-private partnerships for addressing the 
housing and economic needs of rural, distressed communities.
  I emphasize that rural communities face an economic decline of 
substantial 

[[Page S 16466]]

magnitude. Nearly 17 percent of rural Americans live below the poverty 
level, and across all major racial, ethnic, and age groups, these 
residents are poorer than those in metropolitan areas and have less 
opportunity. While most of the rural poor are working, their wages are 
at or below minimum wage. The rural poor also face a bleak housing 
situation--one in four poor rural families live in substandard housing, 
and nearly half pay over 50 percent of their income for rent. A lack of 
human and financial capital, as well as an inadequate physical and 
communications infrastructure, compound the economic and housing 
difficulties that face the rural poor.
  Earlier this month, I chaired a hearing before the Senate Committee 
on Small Business which focused on proposals to revitalize rural and 
urban communities and Paul Grogan, president of LISC, provided 
insightful testimony at that time. At this hearing, we had the 
opportunity to discuss legislation I am drafting to target Federal 
contracts to small businesses that locate in economically distressed 
communities, which I call HUBZones. To be eligible, small businesses 
would need to hire at least 35 percent of its work force from the 
HUBZone to receive valuable preference in bidding on Government 
contracts. I believe this is one way the Federal Government can provide 
a significant incentive to encourage small businesses to provide a 
value added in terms of jobs and investment to economically distressed 
rural communities.
  I applaud the efforts and commitment of LISC for establishing the 
rural LISC initiative which will be responsible for a public-private 
partnership that will commit over $300 million to 68 nonprofits in 39 
States and Puerto Rico for community revitalization efforts in rural 
areas. LISC has a longstanding commitment to finding new approaches and 
strategies to address the problems of distressed communities through 
public-private partnerships. Moreover, LISC has long operated as a 
linchpin to successful community-based investment in urban areas 
through community development corporations. I emphasize that I support 
the need to develop public-private partnerships as the primary vehicle 
to implement positive and community-based policies to address 
distressed communities, in both urban and rural areas. For too long, 
the Federal Government has acted as a ``Mother-May-I'' that has lost 
touch with the individual needs of individual communities. Most of the 
current housing reform legislation, whether in through the 
appropriation or authorization process, recognizes the need to 
consolidate housing and community development programs and to redirect 
the responsibility for decisionmaking from the Federal Government to 
State and local governments.
  In particular, like many urban areas, the Federal Government has been 
unable to establish effective policies to meet the many and unique 
needs of rural areas. LISC deserves particular praise for taking a 
leadership role in organizing and focusing its expertise, resources, 
and the marshalling of public and private sector capital on the unique 
and individual needs of rural areas. Rural LISC represents a major and 
significant new public-private partnership which will direct critical 
new investment to rural CDC's. I emphasize these CDC's are committed to 
transforming rural distressed communities from the grassroots up.
  Finally, the Federal Government has failed to understand the needed 
dynamic to solve local problems in distressed communities. Instead of 
mandating one-size-fits-all policies at the Federal level, Congress and 
the Federal Government need to refocus the decisionmaking for local 
communities from the Federal Government back to States and localities. 
LISC brings to the table expertise and a history of commitment of 
listening and responding to local needs. I expect the rural LISC 
public/private partnership approach to provide a powerful tool and 
model for how best to address the needs of rural areas effectively and 
efficiently.

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