[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11557-11564]
[From the U.S. 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. 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

[[Page 11558]]

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 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

[[Page 11559]]

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,

[[Page 11560]]

but the other 8 inches we are a little concerned about. They have these 
probes that are measuring how much water we are receiving.
  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

[[Page 11561]]

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 
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

[[Page 11562]]

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 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

[[Page 11563]]

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 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

[[Page 11564]]

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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