Bob Schaffer: “I, too, wish to commend those who provided the leadership in the House of establishing the Congressional Rural Caucus.…”

“I, too, wish to commend those who provided the leadership in the House of establishing the Congressional Rural Caucus. As a member of that caucus, I am enthusiastic about the work before us and the goals that we propose to undertake. The kick-off of that caucus is an exciting time and I think an important realization that rural issues need some help here in the United States Congress. There seem to be fewer and fewer of us who represent rural communities, and our goal and our charge over the rest of this Congress and on into the future years involves elevating the priority of rural issues in the Congress. I am excited to be part of that. Sixty-two million Americans live in rural America. That is one out of every four people. We should not be leaving 25 percent of our citizens out of the economic prosperity we are enjoying generally as a Nation today. In the Fourth Congressional District of Colorado, it is a largely rural area and depends heavily on agriculture. The fragile support system of small towns scattered throughout the region depends on the bounty of our natural resources. The tax base in small cities and counties in Colorado and all over rural America is usually small and less flexible than in larger cities in suburban areas. With such small populations, tax bases rarely grow, and increased taxes have a much greater impact on the individual property owner.”