Date: 1990-03-14
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. the economic condition of many towns in rural America was summed up a year ago in a Time magazine article entitled "SmallTown Blues." The subheading of the article was equally depressing. it read: "The trains dont stop anymore. jobs are vanishing and young people are moving away. Now Americas rural hamlets are fighting to stay on the map." Rural development has become a matter of economic survival for many towns in rural America. Rural America did not share in the economic recovery of the 1980s. In fact. over the past decade. the Federal Government has neglected the problems faced in rural America. Five million people left rural areas during the past decade. Many were young peoplebright. welleducated hardworking men and women. These former rural residents go to our cities overburdening urban transportation systems. schools. and other public facilities. Individually. they left for many reasons. But collectively. they left for one basic. overriding reasonthey were in search of a jobof economic opportunityof personal advancement. For those who remain in rural areas. the current situation and the future prospects are not good. These Americans face higher rates of unemployment. poverty. malnutrition. and are on average less educated than their city cousins. Rural Americas infrastructure is crumbling as roads and bridges go unrepaired for lack of funds. Rural Americas tax base shrinks each time a Main Street business or a small factory closes. The quality of education and health care are deteriorating. It is time to turn this around. It is time to change these alarming trends. It is time to reinvest in rural America. It is time to give rural communities an opportunity to survive. Some equate rural development with farm programs. They say. the farm economy has recovered. why not rural towns? The fact of the matter is the economic health of American agriculture can no longer be viewed as synonymous with the health of rural America. A quarter of our Nations population live in rural areas. but less than 3 percent derive their livelihood directly from farming. More than 50 percent of the Nations farm families derive more than half of their income from offfarm jobs. This means farm programs cannot solve the problems of rural communities. In fact. farm income is no longer the dominant source of income in most rural counties. We need to provide a spark to ignite new economic activity in the Nations rural areas. We cannot stand by and watch our rural communities turn into ghost towns. Yes. Americas rural towns are fighting to stay on the map. Its time Congress recognized their situation and begin to help them get back on their feet. Unfortunately. we do not have any new money to plow back into rural Americainvestment which is needed so desperately. � But we can give residents the tools and the opportunities they need to help improve the quality of rural liveto Increase investment In rural America. That is the least the Federal Government should do. This bill. the Rural Economic Development Act of 1990. renews our commitment at the Federal level to help bring economic opportunities and development to our rural communities. This legislation recognizes that rural economic development is a local process of seeking local opportunities. The Federal Government cannot mandate where jobs are to be created. But the Federal Government can. through a cooperative effort with other levels of government and with the private and nonprofit sectors. create a more favorable environment for economic development. I want to acknowledge and commend the work of Mr. ENGLISH. the chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation. Credit and Rural Development. and Mr. COLEMAN. the ranking minority member on that subcommittee. for the many hours of hearings. study. and work put into H.R. 3581. I would also commend all the members of the subcommittee and the full committee who contributed to this bill. Government can and should support efforts to spur rural economic development. This bill provides the seed money needed to create jobs and income opportunities for rural Americans. It will consolidate the USDA rural development programs and facilitate the delivery of resources and assistance. This bill is cost effective and will not create duplicative services. And most importantly. this bill recognizes the need for program flexibility. It seeks to meet the needs of the individual States. within regions of States. and at the local level. Its up to this Congress to ensure the rural development legislation we are considering does the best possible Job of directing our limited resources to meet the economic development needs of rural America. Our collective goal today is ensure that the legislation does this in as fair. equitable. and workable manner as possible. The Federal Government has a long history of concern for rural America. It dates back to President Theodore Roosevelt who set up the Rural Life Commission in 1908. The work of the Rural Electrification Administration and the Nations rural electric cooperatives since the 1930s are also evidence of the Federal Governments efforts on behalf of rural America. I have in the past and will continue to be a strong supporter of our rural electrification programs. Today. we have an opportunity to renew our commitment to preserving rural communities and giving them the opportunity to grow and prosper in the 21st century. The Office of Management and Budget says the administration strongly opposes H.R. 3581. But earlier this year the administration sent this Congress a budget that said we must invest in our future. This bill follows up on the Presidents commitment to invest in our future. More importantly. this bill says there is a future in rural America. We cannot turn our backs on the 25 percent of our. population living in rural areas. This bill may not be perfectseldom will legislation in our democratic process satisfy each and every person. But this bill on balance is reasonable. it recognizes the need for budget restraint. and most of all it sends a message of hope to the people living in rural towns throughout the Nation. I once was told by a lady from Colorado who was losing her farm and wanted to stay-"Mr. Chairman. we cant all move to Denver." This bill makes the commitment to reinvest in rural America. I urge my colleagues to support the committee during consideration and final passage of H.R. 3581. Mr. tChairman. I want to commend the chairman of the subcommittee. the ranking minority member on the subcommittee. all of the members on the subcommittee. and the members of the committee that have worked so diligently and so hard. We will have some amendments down the line. none that we will not be able to work out. with Members support. we will handle them satisfactorily so that they may not in any way destroy or alter the thrust of this legislation. Mr. Chairman. I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma . chairman of the subcommittee.