Thomas Daschle: “Yesterday I introduced the Rural Recovery Act of 2000 to help address the economic malaise that has gripped certain…”

“Yesterday I introduced the Rural Recovery Act of 2000 to help address the economic malaise that has gripped certain rural areas of our country. The legislation will authorize the Department of Agriculture to provide grants to rural communities suffering from out-migration and low per-capita income. Rural areas of our nation continue to experience an erosion in their economic well-being. Statistics bear out the decline in rural economic activity, but they fail to fully capture the human suffering that lies just beyond the numbers. Economic downturns lead to the migration away from farm-dependent, rural communities, further stifling economic opportunities for those left behind. The 1990 Census highlighted these migratory trends, and I anticipate that similar trends will be captured by the 2000 Census, as well. In short, the prosperity from which many Americans have benefited from during the past decade has left many rural areas standing by the wayside. If this trend continues, more and more young people will be forced to leave the towns they grew up in for opportunities in urban areas. In towns like Webster, Eureka, and Martin, South Dakota, we are seeing farm families broken up, populations decline, and main street businesses close their doors. While there is no doubt that economic growth in our urban areas has benefited our nation, the disparity of economic development between our rural and urban areas cannot be ignored.”