Senator Salazar on Rural America

On March 3, 2006, Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) gave the Keynote Address at the National Farmers Union Convention in Colorado. It was a good speech in that the Senator talked candidly about the challenges facing rural America, the obstacles to addressing them, and how the federal government should respond.

In the interest of full disclosure, I worked as a canvasser on Senator Salazar's campaign. I also tend to like him since he attended The University of Michigan Law School.

The full text of Senator Salazar’s speech is available at http://salazar.senate.gov/news/speeches/060303farmunion.html
Here are some excerpts.
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Often times, I have heard rural America described as the heartbeat of our great nation. As Colorado’s United States Senator, I am proud of my values and roots in rural Colorado, and I believe in that description. I also believe that rural America has the potential to be the heartbeat of our nation’s economy.

For years, our rural communities have produced the affordable food that feed American families. Rural Americans have been the stewards of the land for our future generations.

Time after time, the young men and women of our rural communities have proudly answered the call to service and have defended our country as members of our armed services.

In fact, a recent article in the Denver Post, wrote about a study that shows rural communities in Colorado, and across the U.S., are producing the vast majority of our new military recruits. For example, rural Jackson County, in northwest Colorado, has the second-highest recruitment rate in the country.

For years, our rural communities have embodied that democratic spirit on which our great nation was founded and, today, they continue that tradition.

Today, our rural communities are at a turning point. While they continue their great legacy, they are also emerging as reservoirs of vast potential to drive America toward a viable twenty-first century economy and meaningful national security.
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But we have obstacles to overcome. My friends, the evidence suggests that the current Administration does not share this vision of a thriving rural America. Over the past few years rural communities have carried the burden of budget cuts for the entire federal budget.

Amazingly, while agriculture accounts for less than 1% of the total budget, 25% of the proposed mandatory cuts for the next fiscal year alone will come from programs serving our rural communities. We have to keep our fiscal house in order and balance our budget - but not on the backs of the men and women of rural America.
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It’s not enough for the Administration to say it shares our values; it has to truly believe in those values if we are to make the difference we know we can make.

This Administration should not feel like investment in our communities is fiscally irresponsible spending or charity. Rural America should not be thought of, talked about, and invested in as a way for politicians to get votes. It should be a driver for our economy and certainly not an afterthought.

I want our government to be long-term partners with rural America, to share the vision of a thriving, innovative network of rural communities across this Nation acting as a driving force for our national prosperity and our national security. Failure to invest in the future of rural America is a terrible missed opportunity.