[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5679-H5680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE MITFORD MUSEUM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, in 1994, Jan Karon, an author from North 
Carolina, released a novel titled ``At Home in Mitford.'' That novel 
was the first of 14 she wrote in a series that depicted a small town 
located in western North Carolina.
  To be clear, the town of Mitford is purely fictional, but, in fact, 
it was based off a town in North Carolina's Fifth District where Jan 
Karon grew up and drew inspiration from, the town of Hudson.
  In early October, it was my privilege and honor, along with hundreds 
of people from 31 different States, to be in Hudson for the dedication 
ceremony of the new Mitford Museum.
  The mission of this museum is to share the small-town values, through 
artifacts and archives, that relate to western North Carolina and Jan 
Karon's novels with those who visit.
  One of the museum's objectives is to also to enrich both reading and 
writing appreciation and enhancing the literary skills in youth and 
adults. Those important endeavors are worthy of praise.
  Jan Karon, along with many of us, grew up learning and appreciating 
the small-town values which have helped make our country great. By 
sharing them with her readers, she helps preserve the continuity of 
those values so

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that generations both present and future will carry them forward.
  We all long for America to return to those simple values and not 
stray off course. Think about what some of those values are. They are 
comradery, service, sense of community, putting in a hard day's work, 
and family.
  If you were to take the time and travel across North Carolina's Fifth 
District, you would find salt-of-the-earth people who live and breathe 
those values. Those values are alive and well in every small business, 
supermarket, church, community, and neighborhood in the Fifth District 
and across the entire country.
  You see, small-town values are not a euphemism for exclusivity or 
division. They are values that transcend boundaries such as 
socioeconomic status, political affiliation, and geography.
  Mr. Speaker, I consider myself blessed to have been raised in a small 
town and to have learned those values at a young age. Throughout my 
life, I have carried them with me.
  It is even more of a blessing that I have been entrusted to serve 
small towns like Hudson and so many others that are the lifeblood of 
western North Carolina.
  I encourage everyone to visit the town of Hudson and see exactly what 
I mean. Take some time to learn about the values that small towns 
across this country are built on and how, over time, they have made 
such an impact upon everyday people.
  The undeniable truth is that small-town values will forever be 
America's values.


                         September Jobs Report

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, as a former educator, it is clear to me that 
the Biden administration needs some serious math tutoring. The 
September jobs report resembles an incomplete assignment that a student 
turned in at the very last minute.
  Out of 500,000 projected jobs, only 194,000 were added. Five million 
jobs are still unrecovered in America, and labor participation has 
slumped to 61.6 percent. It is the worst jobs report of the year, and 
there are roughly 3 months left to go.
  That report rightfully deserves an F, and it tacks on another chapter 
of this administration making promises it cannot meet. Yet again, the 
so-called Build Back Better agenda falls flat on its face and the 
numbers do not lie.

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