Our businesses are losing thousands of dollars due to employee turnover because their workers cannot find reliable childcare.

I am, quite frankly, scared about the future of my state and my district.

But we must do more.

They have been ignored way too long, and I thank the folks on this Committee who have uplifted these issues to the Administration.

In your testimony I know you mentioned how the ongoing trade war with China is hurting two industries that are heavily served by railroads, both agriculture and manufacturing, which we feel pretty strongly in Iowa 1 right now.

These are two success stories showing how the Department of Agriculture Rural Development is partnering with our businesses.

I think that many of my colleagues here today, including Dr. Joyce, can speak to how the economic opportunities and challenges in rural communities that they represent have changed over the last decade.

As the Congresswoman from Iowa's First Congressional District, I know firsthand that our friends and neighbors in rural communities are dealing with a lot of challenges, especially right now.

We still have more work to do to improve economic opportunities in our small towns and rural communities.

Small businesses create more than half of all new jobs in rural areas.

Sadly, some of our rural communities are still struggling to recover from the recession.