Eva M. Clayton: “I live in rural America, and I represent a predominantly rural district. I also cochair the Congressional Rural Caucus.…”

“I live in rural America, and I represent a predominantly rural district. I also cochair the Congressional Rural Caucus. This is an issue that is critical to rural America, and, indeed, critical to all Americans. It is essential that rural Americans not be treated as second-class citizens who are denied access to local television stations for news, weather, sports, and emergency information. Indeed, one need not look further than my own district in eastern North Carolina to see the critical role that local television news play when disasters such as hurricane, tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, or floods strike. Last winter a fast-moving snowstorm with near-blizzard conditions left a record snowfall of 23 inches in parts of my district. Last fall, three hurricanes and a subsequent 500-year flood left flood waters that covered nearly 20,000 square miles of North Carolina, a land mass greater than the size of the State of Maryland. It took weeks for the flood waters to recede, and disaster relief efforts are still going on to date. Local news provides vital information on safety procedures, emergency shelter, location, and how to obtain assistance.”