[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 125 (Tuesday, July 25, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H6280-H6286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RURAL AMERICA'S CONTRIBUTIONS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the topic of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my friends, my
family, my neighbors, and my fellow Americans in rural communities all
across this land. I am proud to represent 29 counties in rural west
Texas. I am grateful that I grew up in a small town--the town of
Plainview, Texas, a little farming community.
We are the sum of many things and many contributions and influences,
and I am thankful for the influences of that town. I am grateful to my
coaches and my teachers. I was inspired by Ms. Becky Taylor, my first
government teacher at Plainview High School. I have countless people to
thank, and as I walk the Halls here, and as I stand on the floor of the
House and cast my vote for the people I represent, I think about all of
those people who have made an investment.
You see, in rural America, they take responsibility for their
community.
[[Page H6281]]
They believe in making investment in all of those young people who are
working their way through the school system, who have big dreams to
make a difference in the world, and I was one of them.
I pray I could be a champion for rural America. I pray I will be an
effective legislator and that I will be a strong voice for a people
that feel often that they don't have a voice. Maybe it is because we
don't have the votes, and maybe it is because we don't have as many
people, but what we don't have in numbers of people, we more than make
up for in our contribution to this country in the food, in the fuel, in
the fiber that we produce in rural America.
The folks who I represent help put food on the table of all
Americans. They put clothes on the backs of all Americans. They help
fuel this great American economy. They give us energy independence.
They allow us to have an affordable, safe, and abundant supply of
food. We take it for granted. When you ask folks around the country,
especially in urban and suburban areas, ``Where does your food come
from,'' many answer, ``The grocery store or the food truck.''
{time} 1730
My colleagues and I are standing today to speak about the virtue and
the values of rural America and the contribution to this great
experiment in democracy and liberty. We know that it is by the blood,
sweat, and tears of farmers and ranchers all across this great land.
I love everything about rural America, Mr. Speaker. I love the
people, I love the values, and I love our way of life. We are not just
the energy basin, and we are not just the breadbasket. We are the
backbone of this country. If you lose rural America, then you lose
something very special. You lose those traditional American values that
are at the heart of the greatness of this country.
They are counting on us--all of us who represent rural communities--
to fight for them. If you think about this Presidential election, more
than 70 percent of rural communities and people living in rural areas
in the swing States voted for our President. They felt voiceless and
powerless. They felt like they were losing their country, and they
wanted their country back. They were tired of political correctness.
They were tired of do-nothing institutions and politicians that said
they were going to change things and then--status quo.
They know, as well as anybody, what is at stake in the next few years
and the next several years. This window of time is special. They came
out strong in support of our President because they wanted something
different. They wanted results.
Rural America defines leadership different than we do. They define
leadership as working together to solve problems and deliver results.
If you don't deliver results, you are not a leader in rural America.
The proof is in the pudding. So I am especially excited about this
opportunity in the life of our Nation. I am exceptionally honored to
serve in this august body with so much history.
I am overjoyed that I wear the rural America jersey when I stand on
this floor. I am going to do all I can to fight for the future of this
country, which means I am going to fight for rural America's
traditional values, and I'm not going to apologize for it because,
again, where we come from is a lot of who we are, and who we are is a
whole lot more important than what we do.
I am rural America. I am traditional values. I am from the land of
farmers, ranchers, and public schoolteachers who believe they can have
an impact on a kid and inspire him to believe he can change the world.
You are looking at one of them.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Miss Becky Taylor, I thank Coach Cunningham, I
thank Coach Irlebeck, and I thank youth minister Karl Shackleford. I
could go on and on.
I stand on the shoulders of a lot of good people in small town,
middle America, and I don't stand alone. I stand in the company of
great men whom I have met since I have been here. I know a lot of
Americans look at this United States Congress as dysfunctional and do-
nothing, and do you know what? They are right in many ways. But I look
at the individuals, and I see some of the most impressive, patriotic
people who want to make a difference.
I am thankful that in this fight for the heart and soul of this
country, in this battle for the identity of our Nation, this
constitutional Republic, I have got folks in the foxhole with me.
To start my foxhole friends who stand on the side of rural America, I
want to introduce a great American, a dear friend, and the president of
our freshman class. He comes from a big swath of rural Michigan,
Michigan's First District. He is a general, he is a soldier, he is a
businessman, and he is a proud granddad. When I think of Jack Bergman,
I think of a leader. He is a leader.
I am proud to serve with Jack Bergman.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman).
Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, how do I even start after getting an
introduction like that other than to say that I am so blessed to be
part of what I will put up against any Congress as the finest freshman
class that has come across this floor to be sworn in. I am just proud
to be one of Mr. Arrington's colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, when you talk about rural America, how do you know it if
you have never been part of it? I was born, raised, and grew up in a
little Minnesota farming town. My dad came from the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan because there was no work there for 18-year-olds. He went to
Minneapolis looking for work. Of course, he found it, and then he found
my mom. You know how that goes. So she told him that is where he was
going to live for a while, and so that is where I was born.
I had to walk all of a half a mile to work on a farm to help. It was
about a 200-head dairy farm that also had some corn and some soybeans,
and they had hay. I learned how to bale hay, I learned how to not fall
off the wagon, and I learned how to shoot the silage into the silo and
not fall into the silo when you are doing it.
One of the least favorite jobs was cleaning up the dairy barn because
it had those unique aromas. On a hot August day, you learn that they
are all unique, but they are all important to the betterment of what we
are trying to accomplish here.
When you work with your hands--I have seen firsthand how rural
America works, the dedication, the hard work, and the life that on a
daily basis begins before the sun rises and, in many cases, ends long
after the sun sets--that is commitment. It is not only commitment to
your family, it is commitment to yourself, and it is commitment to your
God that you know that you are blessed with what we have in our land.
It is such important work. Daniel Webster said:
``Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most
important labor of man.''
``The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.''
It is so easy to believe that when the lights go off at the grocery
store at night that the food just magically appears on the shelves. It
is amazing how that just happens. Well, we know it doesn't just happen.
It is the last in a series of long steps. Rural America knows better
than anyone what it takes to get the food on those shelves. Rural
America feeds the world, produces resources that are used in other
industries, acts as job creators and the foundation of the economy,
provides food security, and contributes to the moral fabric of our
society.
Farmers face so many challenges already. They are at the mercy of the
weather, crop volatility, and ever-changing prices. Why is the
government so insistent on adding more rocks to the pack of the farmer
who is already overburdened in so many ways? They don't need any more
headaches.
I have often said that if something works in Michigan's First
District, it will work anywhere. We are largely rural. We have got a
lot of big water shoreline, and part of that big water shoreline
provides the water to cultivate our fields. We grow a lot of potatoes
up there. Anybody who really loves potato chips, chances are they came
from a potato that started in Michigan. We grow sugar beets, cherries,
and apples, just to name a few. In fact, just this past weekend, back
in the district, I had a chance to really taste the cherries that we
picked off
[[Page H6282]]
the tree because it is that time of the year.
We should be looking forward and looking to rural America as the
example for success, not trying to hold it back with bureaucratic
regulations and out-of-control government spending. It is time to cut
through the red tape. Rural and urban survival depend on it. Power
belongs in the hands of the individual--the farmers, the loggers, the
fishermen, the miners, the ranchers, and every other hardworking man
and woman in so many districts around the country and especially in our
First District of Michigan.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of hands, people who work with the land know
when you are working with your hands that you don't just go right to
the harvest. You first must till the land. You have to plant. You have
to manage the growing season. Only then, after that long process that
you cannot shortcut in any way, then comes a successful harvest. It has
to happen in order. There is no other way. So anyone who expects good
things happen easily has never been a farmer and has never been working
with their hands.
It is our job not just to honor but to raise rural Americans up as an
example that hard work and traditional American values are still
something to be admired so deeply.
Mr. Speaker, it is an honor just to be talking about this subject
tonight. It actually makes me want to somehow figure out a way to get
back to the district right away to finish up the cherry harvest. It
looks like we are going to have a really good one this year because God
has blessed us with good weather.
Rural America is who we are, and it is who we fight for. I am proud
to be a Member of the 115th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington) for the
opportunity to speak on something that is so passionate and dear to my
heart.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for
his wonderful, beautiful, and heartfelt words about where he comes
from, how that shaped him, and how deeply he believes in the people in
the country, as we say in west Texas. He talked about a lot of things.
He talked about the folks who work the land, and he talked about
traditional American values. Mr. Speaker, I think you are going to hear
some common themes from my colleagues this evening.
The gentleman also mentioned the burden of Big Government. I said,
coming into this office and after 8 years of the advent and explosion
of Big Government, that when our economy in urban and suburban is like
a patient who is sick, the rural patients are in the ICU because small
businesses, community banks, and family farmers bear a disproportionate
burden when it comes to the trillions of dollars and the cumulative
effect of all the rules and regulations out of the last year.
So rescuing the American economy is about helping a sick patient.
Rescuing the rural economy is getting the patient stabilized and off
life support so we can live to farm, to fight, and to have the kind of
quality of life that we love for another day.
Mr. Speaker, I have got a good friend that I have made since I came
to the United States Congress. The gentleman is from the 12th District
of the great State of Georgia. He is a son of a farmer. I bet he knows
something about working the land. I bet he knows something about a work
ethic. I bet his daddy taught him something about that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) who is
my friend and a businessman. The gentleman received the Augusta Metro
Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award, and he will talk
about rural America and why it is so important to making America great.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Congressman Arrington, for
this Special Order and for this opportunity to talk about what makes
America great.
Mr. Speaker, I am a product of rural America. I did learn a lot about
work ethic and about values. I can't think of any other way to grow up,
to be honest with you. Sure it was difficult, and sure I probably had
some times where I thought I would like to be somewhere else. But I
will tell you, there was nothing like it, and I take and cherish those
memories. I have tried to instill those in my children as well.
{time} 1745
It is the greatest honor of my life to represent the people of
Georgia's 12th Congressional District, which is largely rural. We have
18 counties. About 15 of those counties would be considered rural. My
district is home to the Masters Tournament and the growing cyber
industry in Augusta, but it is our rural farms that are the true heart
of my district.
Georgia's 12th District is rural, and I am proud to say it is truly
God's country. You won't find more steadfast, faithful Americans than
in rural Georgia.
Agriculture is the number one industry in my home State of Georgia.
It is also the number one industry in my district. Our farmers have
been forgotten by out-of-touch politicians and unelected bureaucrats
here in Washington, particularly over the last 8 years.
Farm income, for example, is down more than 55 percent, largely due
to what our President has talked about, which is our trade policies.
However, as of last November, we are approaching a new day. This is
President Trump's day and President Trump's America. That is why I am
proud to have a President that knows that rural Americans deserve more.
In April, President Trump created the Interagency Task Force on
Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to be led by Secretary of Agriculture
and fellow Georgian, Sonny Perdue. This task force was created with one
goal in mind: to promote economic growth and innovation in rural
America. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I look forward
to working with Secretary Perdue on this mission, as well as the next
farm bill, which is critical to the lifeblood of our farmers.
From looking at cotton to peanuts, to specialty crops and the
programs they are using, I have participated in numerous hearings on
how to make the next farm bill successful for all of our farmers. I am
working hard to make sure the commodities most important to Georgia's
12th District are protected.
We also have a crisis in our community banking system. Community
banks are the lifeblood of the creation of small business. We
continually lose our community banks. That is why I am so proud of
Chairman Jeb Hensarling and his work to pass the CHOICE Act.
The CHOICE Act reduces the regulatory burden on our community banks.
It allows them to thrive and to provide the capital to grow the small
business community in our rural areas. Small business in our rural
communities accounts for about 75 percent of all new job growth.
We also have to fix healthcare. We are losing a number of our
community hospitals. I know in Congressman Arrington's district, in
small towns, the community hospital is the largest employer in that
community, and it is critical that we repurpose those hospitals, that
we fix healthcare and we provide healthcare for our rural areas.
We also need to look at technology. There is a tremendous need for
broadband and expanding our broadband capabilities. I know the
President is talking about a major infrastructure package. Broadband
needs to be a part of that infrastructure package because the 12th
District of Georgia, through technology, could be the new Silicon
Valley of the East Coast. We would like to see that trickle down into
our rural areas, and it can, but we have to have the capability of the
broadband.
As far as the future of rural America, we are seeing tremendous
strides made as far as technology, as far as farming. Last year, I
planted peanuts. I was operating a tractor, which I remember operating
as a child and a teenager and having to pay attention to all the moving
parts. I tell you, I sat on this tractor and I planted 17 inches over
from the year before, and I never touched the steering wheel. The
technology is amazing.
I was with a group of farmers the other day and we were talking about
God is blessing us with a lot of rain and if it continues, we are going
to have a bountiful crop, a great yield. They said: Yeah, we are good 8
inches down, but the other 8 inches we are a little concerned about.
They have these probes that are measuring how much water we are
receiving.
[[Page H6283]]
So we have a got a lot going on in our rural areas. We just, as a
body here, need to provide our farmers, our small business people, with
the tools they need to get the job done, and they will get the job
done.
Again, I want to thank my distinguished colleague from Texas,
Congressman Arrington, for shining the spotlight on rural America
tonight. It is the lifeblood of this country. I want to see rural
America become everything it needs to be.
We are seeing improvement in the economy through many pieces of this
legislation that we are passing. I hear it from the business community
and some of our city centers. It is time for that to trickle down into
rural America.
Again, I thank the gentleman for shining this spotlight.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Georgia for his
personal experience in agriculture, in a farming family, and a man who
loves all that is good about rural America and knows that what is good
about rural America is what is helping make this country great.
I have got other colleagues that I want to invite to speak. We have
got folks from Illinois, Michigan, and some colleagues from Texas.
I am looking at a guy from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, another new
friend, a dear friend, and a friend of agriculture. He is a guy who not
only knows agriculture because he took a loan out right after
graduating from Western Kentucky and started a farming operation--he
claims it is successful today. I believe him--he was also the ag
commissioner of Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House, and now he
is lending his expertise and his love for this country and all things
about rural America to the First District of Kentucky.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Arrington for shining
the spotlight on rural America today.
I am proud to be a product of rural America. The great thing about
growing up in rural America is you learn values, you learn morals, and
you learn a work ethic. Not every individual in America has that
opportunity. So those of us that grew up with that upbringing in rural
America should appreciate that.
That is why, when I took the oath of office as a brand-new
Congressman back in November, I said my number one priority is to
promote agriculture and restore and revive rural America. I believe we
can. I believe in the future of rural America. But we are going to have
to work together.
Rural America has many challenges right now. The number one challenge
is the economy. We need to help create good-paying jobs in rural
America, because in rural America we are faced with a brain drain. That
is why our best and brightest young people graduate from the good
public schools that we have in rural America, they go off to college or
technical school, but they don't come back. There aren't the same
opportunities, unfortunately, in many of the rural communities as there
are in the more urban and suburban areas.
I believe that we can change that because rural America has so much
to offer. We have work ethic. We have available skilled workers. We
have communities where everyone knows everyone. Everyone has a spirit
of community. We have good churches, good schools, and good rural
hospitals.
So I believe that we need to spread that message as Members of
Congress. As Members of Congress, we also need to invest in rural
America.
As was mentioned earlier, one of the President's main priorities is
an infrastructure bill. I believe that we need to invest in
infrastructure. I believe in a limited government, I believe in small
government, but I do believe it is the government's responsibility to
do certain things. One of those things that is the government's
responsibility is to invest and maintain infrastructure. When we talk
about infrastructure, it is not just interstates and airports. It is
also things that we need in rural America, like broadband and wireless
technology.
I believe that we can create an environment with public-private
partnerships where we can make that investment to help revive rural
America and help to create jobs in rural America to keep our best and
brightest in rural America.
Growing up in Monroe County, which is a rural community in south-
central Kentucky, I had the opportunity to go to Monroe County schools,
where I knew every student in my class. I knew the teachers, I knew
where they lived, I knew where they go to church. I played every sport
I could play and excelled in none, but I enjoyed that opportunity and
learned a lot about it. Of course, we went to church on Sundays.
Throughout my business career as a farmer, the president of the
Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, a State representative, and as a
commissioner of agriculture, I always worked hard to try to promote and
be positive about rural America. Now as a Member of Congress, I want to
join with my fellow colleagues that represent rural areas like the
First Congressional District of Kentucky and make sure that we make
that investment to where we can take rural America to the next level.
So I appreciate Congressman Arrington creating this opportunity
tonight to talk about rural America. I pledge to work with him and our
colleagues to see that we can make a brighter future for rural America.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for
his passion and his resolve to be a voice for rural America and for
agriculture. It has been great to serve alongside of him on the
Agriculture Committee.
I have got another dear, new friend and fellow freshman Member of
Congress who is a great American. He hales from the great State of
Louisiana, my wife's home State. He represents the Third District. I
was about to say I have a couple more racehorses for rural America in
the stable. He actually was raised on a horse ranch near Covington,
Louisiana.
He is a veteran and highly decorated law enforcement officer. He is a
man of deep and abiding faith. I say that God probably hears all of our
prayers, but when he speaks and prays with that thick Louisiana accent,
I think he enjoys his prayers more.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins)
and prayerfully ask him to speak about rural America and why it is
important to this country.
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Texas for yielding.
I recognize my friend, Representative Jodey Arrington, as exactly the
type of American that our Founding Fathers envisioned serving within
the House of we the people.
Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to highlight the importance of
American agriculture and the spirit of the American farmer. Being
raised on a horse ranch, I learned at an early age the value of work
and that rural America wasn't just a place, but a way of life.
Now my wife and I live in a 1,000-square-foot, 65-year-old, wood-
frame home in the middle of farm country in south Louisiana. We have
nine pecan trees, two magnolia trees, and two bushes with flowers on
them. I am not sure what they are, but I know she knows. She enjoys
them. They bloom once a year.
Other than that, it is just an honor to represent my district, which
is deeply agriculturally centered: farmers, ranchers, fishermen, oil
and gas workers, petrochemical workers. They are salt-of-the-earth
folks who know what it is to earn a living. They understand sweat. They
understand labor. In representing my district in Louisiana, these are
the industries that stand up our rural communities. They are the
backbone of our economy.
My district is home to the heart of sugarcane for the entire country.
Cane farmers in south Louisiana account for about 20 percent of all
sugar production in the United States.
My district is also home to the rice capital of America. Crowley,
Louisiana, right in the heart of Cajun country, is home to more rice
mills than anywhere else in our Nation.
Those two crops, alone, account for billions of dollars in economic
output every year and employ tens of thousands of hardworking
Americans.
Given a level playing field and opportunities to compete on a global
scale, American farmers will always win.
{time} 1800
That is why we are working to put American farmers first to open new
[[Page H6284]]
markets, expand American exports, and create jobs in our communities.
We are rolling back regulations that slow growth, stifle innovation,
and restrict the agricultural industry's access to the resources and
manpower it needs to thrive.
We have made great strides this year to help our farmers, and we will
continue to do so. Just last week, a groundbreaking rice export
agreement with China, the world's largest rice consumer, was announced.
This opens a massive new market to United States rice farmers.
These are the type of landmark policy victories that elevate American
farmers and bring economic growth to our rural communities. I am
committed to an America First agriculture policy where American farmers
compete and win. Agriculture is a critical industry that bolsters
economic growth and ensures American independence and national
security.
In my home State, we understand that our economy is run on the sweat
of hardworking American patriots.
As Congress moves forward, I will continue to work tirelessly with my
colleagues on behalf of our farmers and producers to provide
Louisiana's agricultural industry with critically needed support. I am
proud to represent a district so strongly rooted in the spirit of rural
America, and I am honored to stand with my colleagues today in loud and
vocal support for the Americans who we serve in rural America.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the great
State of Louisiana for his comments and his heartfelt commitment to his
district, to the farmers, and the ranchers like the ranch he grew up
on. This is personal for Clay Higgins, and I know when he says he is
going to be a champion for rural America, you can take that to the
bank, and I want to thank him for his comments.
I have other colleagues who are here and want to speak loudly and
proudly for the folks from rural America who are counting on us. What
we lack in numbers up here, we got to make up for in strength of
leadership. I am looking at the bench right now, and I am believing
that we can overcome those numbers with effectiveness and with the
strength of leadership and courage that it takes to get something done
in this town and in this institution.
The next gentleman who I want to introduce to the American people who
are watching with great anticipation is another freshman wonder from
the great State of Georgia, whose district is home to a portion of
western Georgia. He went off and got his dental degree and came back to
where he grew up, West Point, Georgia, came back home to small town
America, and I reckon he did for a lot of reasons, but probably at the
top of the list was he wanted to raise his kids in small town America.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia's Third District
(Mr. Ferguson), to talk about that and anything else, and there are
lots of great things to talk about with respect to rural America.
Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the
Representative from Texas (Mr. Arrington), for highlighting this most
important part of our American culture, the rural America.
As you mentioned, I came from a small town, like many small towns
across this Nation, and we have seen our area fall into decline, but we
have seen what happens when you have a tremendous rebirth in your local
economy.
But there are so many parts of our great Nation in my great State of
Georgia that simply don't have the opportunities that other areas do,
and that is not necessarily new. It is something that we have faced in
America before, and our country has always stepped up to find the right
answers, to give access to success to the people in rural America and,
in my case, rural Georgia.
And if you think about that, we have done that in multiple ways. We
have built infrastructure there that includes highways. We have built
electric grids to the rural parts of our communities,
telecommunications. It has been absolutely amazing to see what happens
and the benefits to this Nation that come when we invest in
infrastructure to rural Georgia and to rural Alabama and any other
State in this great Nation.
One of the things that we have got to recognize is all of the
wonderful things that we have going on that have been highlighted by
our colleagues here tonight, the agricultural industry that exists,
from everything like our colleague from Louisiana talked about, my
colleague from Georgia, the farming communities. In our area, we have a
tremendous number of cattle farmers, dairy farmers, folks who grow pine
trees.
All of those things are important, but we have got to talk about
enhancing that in a new direction for rural America. As has been talked
about here tonight, a big part of that has to be new infrastructure and
an information highway known as rural broadband that goes into America.
We have companies right now throughout this great Nation that are
wanting to invest in many areas. A lot of times all they are asking us
to do is to get out of the way and let the private sector take over and
do it.
If we do that and we build that infrastructure but we fail to educate
our children in a 21st century economy, then we have built
infrastructure that will never reach its full capacity.
So not only is building broadband to the rural community so vitally
important, pairing our education system to that is vitally important,
too. I believe in our rural communities there is a wealth of talent,
people of all backgrounds, ages, demographics that have incredible
talents that are yet to be tapped into.
I believe that we can tap into those talents, and I believe that
those talents can be highlighted, they can be brought out, and they can
be enhanced by allowing our education systems to be adaptive, to be
able to train these young people, young adults, the future of rural
America, to give them the skills that they need so that they can become
a competitive part of the 21st century economy.
I think that many of our States that have large metropolitan areas
like we do in Georgia with Metro Atlanta have a desire to tap into this
wealth of talent in this workforce that exists in rural Georgia, and I
believe that it gives families a chance to stay together because it
creates economic opportunities for families in rural Georgia that
simply do not exist right now.
So think of a vision for rural America where we are connected with
new infrastructure and information technology systems that allow the
talent that we have congregated in rural Georgia, every small town
across this great Nation, to be able to harness that power, to tie it
back into our metropolitan centers, to create vibrant economic
opportunities, let us figure out ways to harness that economic
opportunity to be able to generate revenue to further enhance our
school systems and enhance our communities in rural America.
We have incredible talent, and we need to bring that talent to the
top. We need to make sure that the talent stays in rural Georgia and
all of our communities, and I believe that we can do that.
We have got to make the commitment to build infrastructure across
this Nation as we have in the past, and I believe the future of rural
America is with rural broadband creating business and educational
opportunities where we are going to harness tremendous talent and reap
tremendous benefits.
Rural America is so important to the fabric of our Nation. It is so
important to the people, to the leadership, to our economy, to who we
are. The greatness and the freedoms that we enjoy are exemplified
nowhere better than in rural America.
I am proud to be from rural America, I am proud to raise my family
there, and I believe that the future is bright.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for
his comments, and what a strong leader he has been for our freshmen
class, and what a great representation of his district in the great
State of Georgia.
And who knows better about the challenges of sustaining rural
communities than a mayor who is fighting the fight at the local level.
And so I am just so grateful that he spoke from his heart this evening
about our friends and family and our neighbors back home in small town
America.
I have got another good friend and a guy who knows something about
rural
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America. His district takes up almost the entire State of Nebraska. He
has had Nebraska as his home and his family's home for six generations.
He served at the local level and at the State level, but his greatest
claim to fame is that he married a good friend of mine who served with
me in the George W. Bush White House, Andrea. And I didn't know him
before Andrea, but she has done a great job of cleaning him up, and I
look forward to his comments.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the Representative from Nebraska's Third
District (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Arrington for
yielding. It is great to join him and others here this evening to
really celebrate rural America.
A lot happens in rural America. Oftentimes, it kind of flies under
the radar. That is okay. That is generally the way rural Americans like
it. It is interesting. As I represent the 75 counties of Nebraska's
Third District, it is part of two different time zones and just a
diverse perspective there of many different Nebraskans.
I would say that anecdotally, at least, the most common request among
my constituents is to be left alone. And it is interesting that when we
talk about policies like waters of the U.S. or various--healthcare,
interestingly, you know, a lot of promises were made there that haven't
panned out, and so I am grateful that I can represent so many
Nebraskans who are focused on solutions, and I seek to really reflect
their ideas as solutions here in Washington.
Obviously, there is a lot happening now. I would say all too much or
all too often there is so much bickering that we can't get to the
solutions that we know will help the American people.
I am proud to represent the top producing agriculture district in the
country, and of course, with 75 counties, we have a lot of production,
whether it is livestock, whether it is row crops. I am happy to have
helped start the Modern Agriculture Caucus, and I am grateful for
colleagues participating in this effort to focus on new ways of doing
things in terms of agriculture.
We know that, obviously, agriculture has been around a long time, and
things change. Resources can change oftentimes, but I am glad that we
can focus on new ways of doing things that we know are good for the
environment. We conserve resources, natural resources and others, as we
focus on research that has led to increased yields for our crops so
that we can help feed the world.
We know that many countries around the world look to America as
leaders in agriculture, especially production agriculture, and so I am
glad to help reflect to those successes, help celebrate those
successes.
Who would have thought that not so long ago, who would have thought
that today, we can have record yields amidst a drought. That not only
helps producers, that helps consumers, and that literally helps every
person around the world.
And America is a big country, we know that, and oftentimes there
seems to be somewhat of a disconnect between rural America and urban
America.
Interestingly, I like to share this story. There was a very well-
meaning civil servant who visited rural Nebraska a while back, and we
were touring part of Nebraska. We turned onto a gravel road, and this
well-meaning individual said it had been about 20 years since he
traveled on a gravel road.
I don't think there was any intended disrespect at all, but certainly
a difference of perspective. And so here we are, literally raising the
awareness of all of America in terms of what we can do in rural America
as we do focus on helping feed the world, helping feed America,
certainly, but applying biotechnology out across the fields and across
the prairies of rural America.
And when it comes to trade, we know that we are good at producing
agriculture products. We want to sell our products around the world,
especially when 96 percent of these customers reside outside our
country. So that is why I hope that we can focus on trade policies
moving forward so that we can bring some prosperity to the home front
amidst a struggling ag economy.
Let us be honest about that. Crop prices are not what they were, but
property taxes are still high, input costs are still high, and we want
to do what we can to bring stronger market prices to agriculture.
{time} 1815
That is why we want to and we need to focus on the global economy
that is so important.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to stand here and really
celebrate rural America, as we do have so many of the solutions that
our country needs right now.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I am honored that the gentleman from
Nebraska joined us to lift our voices high, as our flag of rural
America flies high in this House. We think about those families, those
middle and working class families, every day as we govern on behalf of
the people we represent.
Mr. Speaker, I have got another gentleman who I am learning a great
deal from as I serve with him on the House Agriculture Committee and
the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He is a very passionate man
from the great State of Illinois' 12th District. He is a firefighter,
the son and grandson of coal miners, and a proud daddy.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for hosting
this Special Order on rural America.
I am a proud resident of a rural district in southern Illinois. If
you are from Illinois, you understand that the ``S'' is capitalized on
the word ``southern''; and that is because it is a unique area in
itself. It is nowhere near--and there are great people in the Chicago
area, but we are farther--well, actually the district starts just
across from St. Louis and goes south to where the Mississippi River and
the Ohio River come together. There are a lot of farming communities
there.
In my opinion, though, we don't talk enough about our rural
communities here on the House floor. So, I am really glad that we are
having that opportunity tonight.
In so many ways, you have to realize that our rural areas are the
backbone of this country. But if you listen to the media and the
advertisers and the Hollywood producers, you would think there wasn't
anything between the East Coast and the West Coast. But, let me tell
you, I am here today to say that there is.
Too many of these small communities are struggling, trying to get
through, and, quite often, are weighed down by things that we do here
in Washington. They want investment. They care about the growth of
their communities and they care about jobs.
But when the press talks about jobs, the same industries that come up
every time are the tech startups, the consulting firms, the real estate
companies, and the new restaurant chains. Those are all good, but one
group that doesn't get talked about enough is our farmers.
And let me tell you, that is not something new. It has happened over
many years. This Nation's farmers have planted and kept us fed for all
the years this great Nation has been in existence.
And I am going to tell you that Benjamin Franklin called farming the
only honest way to acquire wealth. Thomas Jefferson said our government
would remain virtuous as long as it remained chiefly agricultural.
Illinois' own Abraham Lincoln was born into farming and described
agriculture as a great calling.
In southern Illinois, beginning farmers tell me their cost of doing
business is climbing and their income is shrinking.
This is not the first time this has happened. I want to kind of
express a story that took place several years ago.
Right now, in the Agriculture Committee, we are working on the farm
bill. Well, the first farm bill came into existence because then-
President Ronald Reagan began to hear from the farmers around this
Nation of the problems that they were facing and the concerns that they
had. And one in particular farmer, a man by the name of Herman Krone,
who lives in a little town called Du Quoin, Illinois, about 18 to 20
miles from my home, wrote a letter. Because back then you didn't send
emails and you didn't send texts. You actually wrote letters. He sent
it to the
[[Page H6286]]
President, not thinking that he would get a response, but he just
wanted to voice his concern of his son Rick, and was Rick going to stay
in the family business. Well, he really couldn't because of the high
risk of doing business in our agricultural communities.
Well, one night--as a matter of fact, it was a Sunday night, if I
remember correctly, because I heard this story from Herman himself
before he passed--the phone rang. Now, I understand it wasn't a cell
phone, like we have now. It was actually hardwired to the wall. The
phone rang, he reached over and picked it up, and someone asked: Is
this Herman Krone? Mr. Krone?
He said: Yes.
They said: Can you hold for the President?
Herman said: The president of what?
The man on the other end said: The President of the United States,
Mr. Ronald Reagan.
He said: Well, you are kidding me?
The man said: No, Mr. Krone. It really is.
Sure enough, the President himself called Herman.
He said: Herman, I read your letter, and I realize that you
understand what the problems are that the rural farmers are facing
today.
He said: I will tell you what I would like to do. I would like to
come to your farm. You bring a group of your agricultural people
together and I want to talk with them.
And, sure enough, the next month or so, President Ronald Reagan came.
The conversation he had, along with other conversations he had around
this United States, led to the first farm bill.
We are working on that farm bill right now. But farming and ranching
operations are getting squeezed, due to low commodity prices, just like
they were then. And the need for increased credit, in order to expand
the diversity, has to be done.
Small family-owned businesses are most affected. We hear about
corporate farming, but the fact is, 97 percent of American farms are
family-owned farms.
That is why one of the bills that I have introduced is known as the
BALE Act, which is to modernize the Guaranteed and Direct Loan program
at the USDA to better reflect the costs of farming because times have
changed. It is our job here in this House to remember that we are
dealing with those rural areas and the farmers that are in them.
Now, this will help the next generation of producers make their mark
on the industry. As Republicans and Democrats, we need to work together
on more ideas like this one. We need to keep focused on the heartland
because these are the red-blooded Americans who love their country and
deserve a voice.
By addressing the needs of hardworking families who are too often
forgotten, we can strengthen these communities for generations to come.
It really is all about the next generation.
Each one of us in this House hopes and prays that this Nation holds
and grows, and the next generation has to come up. We need that
generation of farmers to make sure that they stay on the farm.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for
his heartfelt comments about rural America. I am so proud to be
shoulder to shoulder with him in this righteous cause.
Mr. Speaker, I now have the greatest privilege of the night for me,
because this man has been a mentor and a friend for many years and has
probably done as much as anybody to welcome me and coach me up so I can
represent west Texas to the best my abilities. He is from the 25th
District of Texas, and he is an all-American baseball player. Let me
tell you, he won back then and he is winning now. I am just so proud
that he is on the side of rural America and helping rural America win
in the outcomes of public policy so we can keep it strong and vibrant
and keep America great.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams).
Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that nice
introduction, I thank him for what he is doing, and I thank him for
bringing rural America together tonight in the people's House.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to recognize rural
America and the impact it has on our Nation. Rural America makes up 72
percent of our country's land, and roughly 46.2 million Americans
simply call it home.
Our country has been relying on rural America since the beginning. It
is where our roots are, where our values are, and where our heritage
began.
The 25th District of Texas, which I am honored to represent, has tens
of thousands of hardworking men and women who are employed in the
agricultural industry. These men and women make up a large driving
force that help supply our Nation's families with products we would be
unable to get otherwise.
But it is more than that. These folks instill values, such as hard
work, ethics, taking days on and not taking days off, doing the right
thing, and taking care of your neighbor. This is the fabric of our
Nation that is passed on from generation to generation.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight a few specific rural areas in
my district that are truly making a difference.
Located in Stephenville, Texas, the Tarleton State University's
Southwest Regional Dairy Center is a one-of-a-kind facility. This
establishment is home to hundreds of cows that are used for teaching
purposes, research for higher education, and directly contributes to
the dairy industry in Texas and all of the Southwest. I am proud to
represent this unique institution that not only provides goods to our
Nation, but also serves as a learning institute, so we can train the
dairy farmers of tomorrow.
I would also like to recognize the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant,
located in rural Glen Rose, Texas. This power plant has been providing
reliable clean power to Texas' electric grid for almost 27 years.
Taking up approximately 10,000 acres of land, this plant can power
about 1.15 million homes. Their standard of quality is what has made
Comanche Peak one of the best nuclear power plants in the Nation, and I
am proud to represent it in our district.
It is because of rural places like these and the people that work
there that our country is able to run dependably and efficiently. It is
why America is the greatest country in the world. And we sometimes
think Texas might be the best place in America.
I applaud their efforts, and I look forward to continuing to
represent them here in the United States Congress. And I remind you
that you need to go see the 25th District. You are going to like it.
But the people in the 25th District just ask several things. They
just ask that we believe in the Constitution. They just ask that we
have a conscience. They just ask that we listen to them. And they also
just ask that we read the Bible. I am proud to represent the people in
the 25th District.
In God we trust.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the great
State of Texas. I appreciate his friendship, his mentorship, and that
acid test that he taught me when I first stepped foot on the floor of
the House of Representatives--your conscience, your constituents, the
Bible, the Constitution. If you vote that way, you are going to do
right by your children and grandchildren.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Roger Williams, a great American.
Mr. Speaker, I have another colleague here. He came here because he
feels so passionate about rural America. I am so grateful that he is
here.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from the great State of Texas
(Mr. Gohmert).
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Arrington for his dedication to
rural America. That is the heartland. I thank him for knowing that and
representing his district so well.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for
those remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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