Rural America's Contributions

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Arrington for shining the spotlight on rural America today.

I am proud to be a product of rural America. The great thing about growing up in rural America is you learn values, you learn morals, and you learn a work ethic. Not every individual in America has that opportunity. So those of us that grew up with that upbringing in rural America should appreciate that.

That is why, when I took the oath of office as a brand-new Congressman back in November, I said my number one priority is to promote agriculture and restore and revive rural America. I believe we can. I believe in the future of rural America. But we are going to have to work together.

Rural America has many challenges right now. The number one challenge is the economy. We need to help create good-paying jobs in rural America, because in rural America we are faced with a brain drain. That is why our best and brightest young people graduate from the good public schools that we have in rural America, they go off to college or technical school, but they don't come back. There aren't the same opportunities, unfortunately, in many of the rural communities as there are in the more urban and suburban areas.

I believe that we can change that because rural America has so much to offer. We have work ethic. We have available skilled workers. We have communities where everyone knows everyone. Everyone has a spirit of community. We have good churches, good schools, and good rural hospitals.

So I believe that we need to spread that message as Members of Congress. As Members of Congress, we also need to invest in rural America.

As was mentioned earlier, one of the President's main priorities is an infrastructure bill. I believe that we need to invest in infrastructure. I believe in a limited government, I believe in small government, but I do believe it is the government's responsibility to do certain things. One of those things that is the government's responsibility is to invest and maintain infrastructure. When we talk about infrastructure, it is not just interstates and airports. It is also things that we need in rural America, like broadband and wireless technology.

I believe that we can create an environment with public-private partnerships where we can make that investment to help revive rural America and help to create jobs in rural America to keep our best and brightest in rural America.

Growing up in Monroe County, which is a rural community in south- central Kentucky, I had the opportunity to go to Monroe County schools, where I knew every student in my class. I knew the teachers, I knew where they lived, I knew where they go to church. I played every sport I could play and excelled in none, but I enjoyed that opportunity and learned a lot about it. Of course, we went to church on Sundays.

Throughout my business career as a farmer, the president of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, a State representative, and as a commissioner of agriculture, I always worked hard to try to promote and be positive about rural America. Now as a Member of Congress, I want to join with my fellow colleagues that represent rural areas like the First Congressional District of Kentucky and make sure that we make that investment to where we can take rural America to the next level.

So I appreciate Congressman Arrington creating this opportunity tonight to talk about rural America. I pledge to work with him and our colleagues to see that we can make a brighter future for rural America.

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