Eva M. Clayton: “the Nation's attention has been focused on the economic plight of our inner cities, but I believe that the economic…”

“the Nation's attention has been focused on the economic plight of our inner cities, but I believe that the economic well-being of rural America has reached a critical point and deserves our immediate attention. Rural communities are rapidly losing population as jobs dry-up. From 1980-1990, the census showed more than 50 percent of the country's rural counties lost population. Average rural unemployment for the decade was almost 9 percent. Furthermore, by the beginning of this decade, almost a quarter of all farm households had incomes below the poverty line, more than twice the national average. In my rural 1st District of North Carolina, the average poverty rate is 26 percent. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to take action to unlock the potential economic power of rural America. In a time of limited Federal resources, we in Congress must seize upon the opportunities available to leverage private resources and ensure that existing programs are used to their utmost. We all know that agriculture and its related industries are the economic pillars upon which rural communities were built. But over the years, agriculture and rural businesses have changed dramatically. In this context, I believe that Congress must act now to adapt public policy to meet the challenges facing rural America.”