Political Quotes

“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.…”