On the recordJuly 25, 2017
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.…
