[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE FORMATION OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RURAL CAUCUS

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                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 14, 2000

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, this week marks the official rebirth of the 
Congressional Rural Caucus. I am so pleased to have the opportunity to 
recognize the efforts of Representatives Eva Clayton of North Carolina, 
Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas, and Earl Pomeroy of 
North Dakota to re-establish this important Caucus, and to thank the 
dozens of organizations and associations which have helped during the 
planning process and will continue to work with the Congressional Rural 
Caucus in the days ahead.
  I am very excited to be a member of this new caucus. A number of 
years ago, I served a term as Chairman of the previously organized 
Congressional Rural Caucus. That group was extraordinarily valuable as 
an outlet for Members representing rural districts to discuss issues 
and work together to communicate the particular needs and concerns of 
rural America to the Congress as a whole. After several years of 
inactivity, I am glad that like-minded Members will once again have a 
bi-partisan organization that focuses on bringing the priorities of 
rural America to the forefront in the Congress.
  In addition to recognizing the new membership of the Congressional 
Rural Caucus, I would like to say just a few words about one of the 
groups that has recently assisted with the organization of the Caucus 
and has for decades worked to improve life in rural America--the 
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
  One of our nation's greatest achievements during the last century was 
the electrification of rural America. Before the third decade of the 
20th Century, only about 10 percent of America's rural population 
enjoyed the benefits of electricity. The rest chopped wood, pumped 
water by hand or carried it from a stream, washed and rinsed the 
laundry in tubs in the yard. Life without electricity was especially 
hard on women. They aged early and died young because of the hardships 
of rural living.
  Rural electrification provides us with a wonderful example of 
American ingenuity and federal cooperation. The people of rural America 
who needed electric service came together as cooperatives to organize 
and run their own electric utilities, and the government provided loans 
that most bankers, then or today, could not have provided prudently.
  Electricity--and the Rural Electrification Administration and the 
vision of Congress--made a huge difference. Today, more than 99 percent 
of rural Americans can watch television in the comfort of an all-
electric home, can enjoy the efficiencies of all manner of appliances--
from toasters to air-conditioners, from grain dryers to milking 
machines and refrigeration.
  Because now most rural Americans have electric service, some would 
say the job is done. I would say the job is just begun. Rural America 
today faces a different set of challenges. Electric cooperatives have 
deep roots in their communities, and they have a stake in improving the 
quality of life, the economics, the health and education of their 
communities. Electric cooperatives have traditionally provided services 
well beyond basic electricity, from something as simple as lighting the 
little league field to something as complex as providing distance 
learning in rural schools, Internet access, water and sewer, satellite 
television, economic and community development. They could do more; 
they would do more. We need to consider how rural Americans across the 
country could benefit by harnessing the talent of rural electric 
cooperatives in new ways in this new century.
  I look forward in the coming months and years, as a member of the 
Congressional Rural Caucus, to addressing our new rural challenges. 
Again, I would like to thank the co-chairs of the Caucus and all of the 
organizations that have worked to bring the Congressional Rural Caucus 
back to life. Together I think we can be a positive force to bring true 
and consistent prosperity and a high quality of life to rural 
Americans.




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