Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise again to repeat one more time that rural America needs our help. I do not really think Congress as a whole or the country as a whole realizes what has not happened in rural America. As we have seen urban and suburban areas grow and prosper and fight growth, in rural America we have had an exodus. We have had elements in this Congress that have stopped timbering and put loggers out of work. We have had elements in this Congress that have stopped mining and put miners out of work. We have had elements in this Congress that have made it pretty difficult to farm in some areas and put farmers out of work. We have had regulatory agencies that have been very difficult. There has been an attack on how we make a living on rural America. I said it many times, in my district we mine. I am from where the first oil well was drilled. We have the finest hardwood forest in America, and we farm and we manufacture. There are organizations against all of those. Rural Americans work for their money. They are the hardest working people in this country. They are the salt of the Earth in my book, and I am proud to represent them. I think we make a mistake when we put so many of our resources in helping a few. This 1 percent we are asking for helps the whole rural community. Most farmers depend on a second job for one of their family members or themselves. They depend on a second job for their children.”