Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I came to Congress committed to having the Federal Government be a better partner with our State and local governments, with private citizens, to help make our families safe, healthy, and more economically secure. It is hard to think of an approach that would do more for our families in rural America than is outlined in this proposal. As a member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, I know how critical those water needs are. They have been documented here on the floor already today. We know that we need to be doing more in terms of value-added agriculture that is going to be critical for farms, particularly small farms where people are most at risk. This is important investment. But the area that I find most intriguing deals with giving planning resources to rural America. It has been a transformational effect in my State for communities large and small to be able to have the resources to be able to plan their future, to engage their citizens to be part of the solution, to go hunting for money, public and private. Sadly, the situation today is that rural communities do not have access to these critical planning resources. I commend the committee, the ranking member, and the Chair for having stepped forward with the strategic planning initiative. I think it is going to pay huge dividends.”