Date: 1985-05-07
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. in the beginning. when God created the heavens and the Earth. the Earth was a formless wasteland. and darkness covered the abyss. while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said. "Let there be light." and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day." and the darkness He called "night." thus evening came. and morning followedthe first day. And on the sixth day God created to His image and likeness man. and then woman followed. With the charge to have dominion over all the creatures of the land. and to subdue the Earth to their needs. Here my friends began the quest for fire and light. for God clearly defined darkness from light. and it was for man to bring light into the darkness. Eventually man conceived light that woula shine upon the darkness from fire and he utilized his genius to use his Intellect and the tools at his disposal to make light. and thus we had electricity for those who could avail themselves of this great discoveryhere my friends was the birth of REAthe Rural Electrification Administration to allow all who would. in partnership with their Government to -have light. regardless of where they lived or their station in lifeif we were to take all of time. from creation to now. and frame it in the space of 365 daysthe last 50 years would be but the last 30 seconds of the 365th dayso we celebrate. Mr. Speaker. I -am so very glad to have this chance to participate in observing the 50th anniversary of the REA. This is an important observance for many reasons * * * and one of them is the fact that when this Congress makes decisions about the program in the future. our Members should be aware of what the REA has meant to rural America. A lot of people these days do not remember what life was like a half century ago In areas without electric service. When -we look back to those days. most of us who grew up in small towns and on farms may remember best the many good things about rural life. But for many people. there was another side to that rural experience. It was a side of hardships. isolation. and doing without many of the things that were part of everyday life for other Americans. Not long ago. the Texas electric cooperatives went around to talk to some of our people who remembered the old days. One of the stories they collected for their oral history project came from a gentleman named Fain McDougal. a retired rural cooperative manager. at Cuero in southcentral Texas. He was talking at one point about a conversation he had many years ago with a child from a family that had recently gotten electric service. Let me give you. word for word. what Mr. McDougal had to say: One little girl from up at Yoakum says. "You know. when we first started to school we talked funny. and they made fun of us and the way we dressed. And now weve got lights. radio and television. And we dress like everybody and talk like everybody else. They cant tell us from town kids." H 2910 CO There was another interview in that series I want to give you briefly. Mrs. Ruth Lane of San Angelo. She had this to say about life in the country after the power lines came: Now we have been put within the mainstream of American life . . . and I hope future generations can realize how much It has meant to rural America. The rural electrification movement that began 50 years ago has. indeed. done a great deal for rural people and for our country. It has transformed the quality of rural life. It has made it possible for our farmers to become the worlds most efficient producers of food and fiber. And it has been a spur for the development of thousands of new nonfarm businesses and industries and new community facilities in rural communities all across the country. These are reasons enough to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program. We should be celebrating the accomplishments of the program and its leaders. both on the national level and in every local cooperative where people work together to make power systems work to meet their needs. We should be remembering people like President Roosevelt. who created the REA. and the great leaders in Congress who wrote the program legislation and kept it updated to meet changing needs down through the years. We should be noting the great service of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association down through the years. But celebrating the past is not enough. This is also a time when we should be looking to the future. Times and conditions have changed since the REA was created half a century ago. But there are still great needs and future challenges out there. and the job facing the Rural Electric Program in the years ahead remains a major national challenge. The Rural Electric Program must continue to be an engine for making sure that rural America and its people have a fair chance to participate in future national economic growth. And to fulfill that initial mandate of "Let there be light." Mr. Speaker. I yield to the gentleman from Texas at this time.