[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 48 (Thursday, April 25, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE HORSESHOE BEND, IDAHO, RURAL WATER PROJECT

  (Mr. OTTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. OTTER. Mr. Speaker, I spent last Monday, Earth Day, in Horseshoe 
Bend, Idaho, with the mayor, Brian Davies, celebrating the announcement 
of their rural water project. The USDA Rural Development Agency and its 
Idaho director, Mike Fields, had provided a loan of $600,000 and a 
grant of $260,000 to the city. That money, coupled with $251,000 from 
the citizens themselves, and an additional $395,000 from the community 
development block grant from the State of Idaho, will assist Horseshoe 
Bend with upgrading their existing sewer treatment plant.
  This is an outstanding example of initiative and partnership formed 
for the development of a rural community's infrastructure.
  Far too often, Mr. Speaker, Federal agencies impede the needed 
cooperation through excessive regulation or unnecessary assertion of 
authority. Here is an example of a government agency recognizing a 
problem and then working with the community to find a solution. It is 
an encouraging example of government being a partner in finding a 
solution, rather than an impediment to the progress.
  I hope more agencies of the Federal Government will follow the 
example of the USDA Rural Development Program.

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