75 



HONORABLE JILL LONG 

 CHAIRWOMAN 

 CONGRESSIONAL RURAL CAUCUS 



Thank you for allowing me to testify. 



I'm here to speak about the future of rural America. Like 

 many Members of this Committee, I am a resident of one of our 

 nation's 14,000 rural cities and towns. 



Too often in the past, the problems of urban areas have 

 received the headlines, while the problems of rural America have 

 been hidden. 



But poverty is not just an urban problem. Inadequate 

 education is not just an urban problem. Unaffordable health care 

 is not just an urban problem. These are just some of the reasons 

 that this hearing today is so important — to bring attention to 

 the conditions in rural America. 



Consider this: 



— The poverty rate is higher in rural areas than in urban 

 regions. In fact, at the end of the 1980's, rural poverty was 

 still higher than in 1972. 



— A higher percentage of kids and elderly in rural areas are 

 poorer than in urban areas. 



