Norvell Emerson: “let me close by commenting on the remarks of our colleague, the gentleman from Colorado. As the cochairman of the Rural…”

“let me close by commenting on the remarks of our colleague, the gentleman from Colorado. As the cochairman of the Rural Caucus with my very dear friend, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton), I am a little taken aback. It strikes me as something that is very important to say, because everywhere I go in rural America, it does not matter, in my district, which is 26 counties of very, very rural and somewhat remote areas, the economic prosperity that seems to be pervasive in the suburbs and in some of the cities is nowhere to be found. The Federal government reimburses our hospitals for Medicare at a fraction of what the cities get. We have hospitals closing right and left. We have folks in my district who cannot get local TV, who cannot get cable TV, who have no means by which to find out what happens in an emergency. Education funds are lacking, infrastructure funds are lacking. Everything that we want to do to preserve our heritage, to preserve the very heart and soul of the country, is what my colleagues are all talking about. I would ask our colleagues to please make sure that we defeat the amendment offered by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley).”