Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN "Senate stimulus" analysis of 2021 Biden Promises
Deb Haaland on Rural:
(Technology Dec 11, 2020)
Hailed $165 million for rural broadband in New Mexico
Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich along with Representatives Ben Ray Lujan, Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small, hailed the announcement that 18 cable companies, satellite businesses, electrical cooperatives, and wireless providers in
New Mexico have won nearly $165 million from the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction. The utilities received the funding for a 10-year period to provide broadband access in 64,170 locations in New Mexico.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: Press release haaland.house.gov on Biden Cabinet
Cedric Richmond on Rural:
(Principles & Values Dec 7, 2020)
Goal is connections regardless of political affiliation
The Biden administration plans to create a position to find common ground with conservatives, said Richmond. He said the office's goal was to forge connections with all Americans, regardless of their political affiliation. "We're not elected just to
help Democrats or urban cities or minorities," he said. "We were elected to help this entire country and that means reaching out to conservatives, that means reaching out to rural areas, reaching out to people who didn't vote for us."
Click for Cedric Richmond on other issues.
Source: Bloomberg News on 2021 O.P.E. Confirmation Hearings
Joe Biden on Rural:
(Environment Sep 17, 2020)
WOTUS: clean water rules create rural jobs
Q: Obama Administration policies such as the rules under the Waters of the U.S. Act (WOTUS) threatened to increase regulation. How do you plan to decrease the regulatory burden for farmers and businesses?BIDEN: On regulation that relates to
fertilizer and water tables: In Delaware, we have a $4 billion poultry industry, and all the manure, a consequence of chickens, is polluting the Chesapeake Bay. We've invested a lot of money, and we found out you can pelletize this and take out the
methane, so you can use that fertilizer without the damage that was being done before. The same way with horse manure and cow manure and pig manure. And we can create thousands of jobs in rural America as a consequence of setting up these small
industries within communities. That's the way you'll be able to continue to farm without worrying about whether or not you're polluting, & be in a position where you're able to make money by what you do in the transition as well as be able to grow more.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 drive-in with Anderson Cooper
Susan Rice on Rural:
(Education Jul 29, 2020)
Free public college for families earning under $125,000/year
In education we should invest in the full spectrum of learning -- starting with universal prekindergarten, competitive teacher salaries and reliable broadband in both rural and urban digital deserts. To expand access to postsecondary education,
it's time to provide no-debt access to community colleges, scale up apprenticeships and Pell Grants, and make tuition free at public universities for all families earning under $125,000 annually.
Click for Susan Rice on other issues.
Source: New York Times on 2020 Veepstakes
Steve Bullock on Rural:
(Health Care Jul 7, 2020)
Medicaid expansion has kept rural hospitals open
The governor will host a roundtable with health officials to discuss how COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of removing barriers towards getting needed health care. According to the governor's office, 10 times more services were delivered via
telehealth in April than in February for Medicaid expansion numbers. The governor's office also said Montana hasn't lost one rural hospital thanks to Medicaid expansion which covers the cost of COVID-19 related treatments.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: KULR-8 NBC-TV on 2020 Montana Senate race
Stacey Abrams on Rural:
(Technology Jun 9, 2020)
1/4 of rural residents lack broadband; no online census
In the conduct of the 2020 census as a high risk government operation do to complexity of the progress, the US Census Bureau plans to implement several innovations, including new IT programs.
For the first time in history, up to 80% of respondents will be expected to complete the census online.
According to the Federal Communications Commission report on broad band progress, "In rural areas, nearly one fourth of the population-14.5 million people-lack access to broadband service.
In tribal areas, nearly one third of the population lacks access. Even in areas where broadband is available, approximately 100 million Americans still do not subscribe. " This issue has raised red flags for a number of organizations.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.
Source: Our Time Is Now, by Stacey Abrams, p.173-4
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Government Reform Feb 25, 2020)
21st century voting rights: core of Frederick Douglass plan
When I was born, there was no difference in your life expectancy, if you were born in a rural area or a city. Now the gap is the biggest it has been in a generation, and that is particularly affecting black rural families.We're seeing hospital
closures right and left. And we're seeing them, in particular, in states where Medicaid was not expanded, something that is hurting black and poor white families and is largely the result of racial voters suppression.
See, all of these things are
connected, housing, wages, the ability to get anything done on criminal justice reform. All of these things are going to be harder to deal with as long as black voices are systematically excluded from political participation, which is happening on
everything from the purging of voter rolls to the closing of voting locations. And that harms everyone.
It's why in my Frederick Douglass plan for comprehensively dealing with these issues, part of the core of it is a 21st Century Voting Rights Act.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Health Care Feb 25, 2020)
Debt forgiveness for doctors & nurses in under-served areas
Sen. Amy KLOBUCHAR: We're going to have a million openings for home health care workers, particularly in rural areas, that we don't know how to fill. I have passed the bill that allows doctors
from other countries that study in our medical schools to stay and serve in rural areas. We need to expand that.SANDERS:
We put $2 billion into a program which would provide debt forgiveness for doctors, nurses, dentists, we have a major dental affordable crisis in this country, to make sure that they are practicing in underserved areas.
The advantage of a Medicare-for-All health care program, because it's not driven by profits for the drug companies and the insurance companies, we will have health care for all people in all parts of this country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Immigration Feb 25, 2020)
Let foreign medical students stay as rural doctors
I don't want agree with some of my colleagues here about putting hard-earned taxpayer money into rich kids going to college. What I think we need to do instead is look at what our needs are in our economy.We're going to have a million openings for
home health care workers, particularly in rural areas, that we don't know how to fill. We're going to have over 100,000 openings for nursing assistants. We're not going to have a shortage of sports marketing degrees.
We're going to have a shortage of plumbers and nurses.
So putting incentives in place with how we do loan payback, making one- and two-year degrees free, and then of course creating loan payback programs if people will go, especially medical
students, into rural areas.
I have passed the bill that allows doctors from other countries that study in our medical schools to stay and serve in rural areas. We need to expand that.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Welfare & Poverty Feb 25, 2020)
One size doesn't fit all, for rural poverty
Q: How would you ensure health care is available in rural areas?KLOBUCHAR: People aren't always aware about how much poverty there is, particularly child poverty in rural areas. So the answer is one size doesn't fit all. And one of the ways you do
this, right now we have something called critical access hospitals so they're designated for rural areas. And actually, I am the lead Democrat on a bill to extend that, to have other types of hospitals, like emergency rooms in rural areas be covered.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Principles & Values Feb 19, 2020)
Will bring rural and suburban voters together to win
I think the path is a high voter turnout. I'm the one on this stage that had the highest voter turnout of any state in the country when
I led the ticket, as well as bringing in rural and suburban voters. I'm the only one with the receipts to have done that in Republican congressional districts over and over again.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 9th Democrat 2020 primary debate, in Las Vegas Nevada
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Families & Children Feb 6, 2020)
Healing & Belonging Grants: more mental healthcare support
We need to build up the base of mental health providers in this country. Reimbursement needs to be trued up in a way that reflects that we, in fact, value mental health care just as much as we do taking care of any physical, medical condition.
It means making sure that we're supporting in particular areas that are underserved, getting more of those providers that they need, rural areas. It means using technology.
I'm proposing that we use federal dollars to fund what we call "Healing and
Belonging Grants" to local communities, because often a different area will have a different combination of struggles when it comes to mental health, behavioral health, and addiction. And so I don't think all of the answers have to come from
Washington, but more of the money should.
And we will empower local health departments, local communities, and local organizations seeking to deliver those solutions and make sure that they get funding to help them as they do.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Immigration Feb 6, 2020)
Community Renewal Visas: fast-track rural immigration
This has to be a country that manages things like immigration in a way that aligns with our values and our laws. Part of it is that we need to update our laws, which haven't been changed since the 1980s and have made it impossible for us to manage
immigration in a commonsense way. But part of it also is recognizing that immigration is part of the lifeblood of this country. It's why part of what I've proposed is what we call "Community Renewal Visas", as part of my vision for how we increase
the economic prospects of rural areas, is that if an area that's hurting for population wants to welcome more--and many do, even in more conservative areas--that they can apply for an allotment of community renewal visas that fast-track folks who are
new to America and will commit to living in those communities.
We need to lift up the role of immigration as an engine for our economy, for the development of our communities, and not just pay lip service to legal immigration.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Andrew Yang on Rural:
(Government Reform Feb 5, 2020)
Banning Electoral College non-starter; reform system
Candidates who say we should abolish the Electoral College, one, it would require a dozen states to shoot themselves in the foot and say they don't want that kind of power anymore, which is a nonstarter.
But, two, it would end up disadvantaging rural areas, because you would just campaign in major media markets, and that's not what the framers of the Constitution intended. We have to work with the system we have and reform it.
[On delays in election tallies]:This was an avoidable error that shot the party in the foot. And it's going to be harder to convince
Americans that we can entrust massive systems with government if we can't count votes on the same night in a way that's clear, transparent, and reliable.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: Presidential/NYC Mayoral race
Donald Trump on Rural:
(Technology Feb 4, 2020)
New roads, bridges & tunnels, plus high-speed rural internet
We must also rebuild America's infrastructure. I ask you to pass Senator Barrasso's highway bill--to invest in new roads, bridges, and tunnels across our land. I am also committed to ensuring that every citizen can have access to high-speed internet,
including rural America.Congressional Summary: S.2302 addresses several provisions related to highway transportation infrastructure, including provisions to accelerate project completions, improve resiliency to disasters, and reduce
highway emissions, [including]:
- a bridge investment program to award competitive grants
- new climate-related grant programs, including for carbon reduction
- expands the flexibility provided out of the Highway Trust Fund; and
- prioritizes
animal detection systems that reduce the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions.
[Legislative status: Introduced by John Barasso (R-WY) on 7/29/19, with 3 bipartisan co-sponsors; Report 1/8/20 to Committee on Environment and Public Works].
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2020 State of the Union address to Congress
Mike Bloomberg on Rural:
(Environment Jan 20, 2020)
Make wildfire resilience a top priority
Mike will set a goal to reduce deaths and property losses from wildfires by 50% within four years. He will direct the U.S. Forest Service to coordinate with federal, state and local agencies, tribal leaders, environmental groups, rural communities,
private timber companies, utilities, and the insurance industry to develop fire management plans for each state at risk. Mike will double federal funding for fire management to $10 billion and devote half to mitigation efforts.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com
Mike Bloomberg on Rural:
(Health Care Jan 20, 2020)
Protect & expand access to care in rural areas
Mike will change rural hospital payment models so that they receive a fixed, capitated annual budget. Mike will double federal funding for Community Health Centers and increase funding for the National Health Service Corps, which offers loan repayment
and scholarship opportunities for doctors who practice in high-need areas. Mike will also expand broadband access to rural areas and boost Medicare coverage of telemedicine services.
Mike will create a Medicare-like public option--a health plan that will be administered by the federal government but paid for by customer premiums. He will improve consumer choice and increase competition in the private insurance market,
pushing down premiums for all. His plan will allow people of modest means who buy the public option to be eligible for the same subsidies that would apply on the health insurance exchanges.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com
Andrew Yang on Rural:
(Health Care Dec 19, 2019)
Invest in "telehealth" allowing internet access to doctors
After backtracking slightly on his endorsement of Medicare for All, Yang released his own health care plan, titled "A New Way Forward." The measure commits to investing in "telehealth." "Telehealth is an
effective approach for doctors across the country to provide care for patients in rural and underserved areas over the internet without needing a specific redundant license to practice medicine in the patient's state," the plan reads.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Alexandra Hutzler in Newsweek on 2019 Democratic primary
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Energy & Oil Nov 4, 2019)
Trump's EPA small refinery waivers benefitted big oil
[On EPA rules from the Trump administration]: "Biofuels provide promising opportunities in rural America that drive our country forward and help reduce emissions," says Buttigieg. "Yet, Trump's small refinery waivers
have benefited big oil companies at the expense of Iowa farmers. And jobs and incomes have been lost in the process. Farmers deserve better. As president, I will end this administration's abuse of 'small refinery' waivers."
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: KIMT-3 News (Rochester/Austin) on Biden Transition
Cory Booker on Rural:
(Abortion Oct 15, 2019)
Create Office of Reproductive Freedom & Reproductive Rights
Q: If states prevail on restricting abortion how would you stop them?Senator Booker: Let's be clear about these laws we see from Alabama to Ohio: they're not just attacks on one of the most sacrosanct ideals in our country--liberty, the ability to
control your own body--but they are particular another example of people trying to punish, trying to penalize, trying to criminalize poverty. Because this is disproportionately affecting low income women in this country, people in rural areas in
this country. It is an assault on the most fundamental ideal, that human beings should control their own body. As president, the way I'm going to deal with this is first of all elevating it to a White House level position. I will create the
Office of Reproductive Freedom and Reproductive Rights in the White House. Make sure that we begin to fight back on a systematic attempt, that's gone on for decades, to undermine Roe v. Wade. I will fight to codify it.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Immigration Sep 12, 2019)
Rural residents know immigrants help revitalize small towns
In some of the most conservative, rural areas of Iowa, I have seen communities that embraced immigration grow. And that's why part of my plan for revitalizing the economies of rural
America includes community renewal visas that would allow cities and towns and counties that are hurting not only for jobs but for population to embrace immigration as we have in my city.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Energy & Oil Sep 4, 2019)
Federal investment in renewable tech for farms
Q: How will you help farmers meet environmental regulations?BUTTIGIEG: Uncertainty is one of the biggest enemies that a farmer has, and we're adding an awful lot of it with what's happening with climate change. Rural Americans can be a huge part of
the solution. To me, the quest for the net zero emissions cattle farm is one of the most exciting things we might undertake as a country. It can be done right now, scientifically, but it's completely unaffordable. We need to change the eco
And, yes, that means federal investment.
Q: You support a carbon tax?
BUTTIGIEG: We need balance in all of our consumption patterns and part of what a carbon tax and dividend does is it resets the price signals in the market to help make that happen
without ordering Americans to abandon something. Instead we change the economic signals. We bring it into balance, which is what we have lost when it comes to our relationship with creation, with the earth that sustains our ability to live
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Jobs Sep 4, 2019)
Focus on rural & job aspects of green energy transition
Q: Do you support a jobs guarantee as part of a climate plan or do you think we risk losing support for a climate plan by mixing the issues of climate change and full employment?KLOBUCHAR: I think that we have to make jobs and employment a major part
of this. Let's look at the facts even in today's economy--wind & solar are some of the growing areas for new jobs. In today's economy 99% of the wind [energy generation] is going to be rural. So there's a lot of exciting things that can happen in rural
America out of this. So there's a lot of new jobs. So for me, as you are transitioning out of coal--as you are replacing this oil with electric cars and other new technology--you make sure that people that are working in those fossil fuel industries
have jobs. So we do worker training--to make sure that we're ready to find jobs that are suiting the skills that they've had that they've built over the years.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Tax Reform Aug 12, 2019)
Mom-and-pop tax credit for five or fewer full-time employees
The former governor of Colorado is also pushing a few tax breaks designed to help rural communities. First, there's a new "mom and pop" tax credit for the owners of businesses with five or fewer full-time employees and annual revenues of less than
$10 million. These owners would be allowed up to $50,000 in lifetime credits for new business investments or employment. Second, the governor is calling for a new
Entrepreneurial Opportunity Zone Program, which would provide tax deductions for both new businesses and workers at new businesses in rural and distressed areas.
The deductions would be available for five years. Finally, his plan to help rural America includes increased funding for the federal historic tax credit to boost investment in the renovation of historic buildings.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: Rocky Mengle, finance.yahoo.com, on 2019 Democratic primary
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Technology Jul 30, 2019)
We need infrastructure plan; fix the damn roads
I am the first one that came out with an infrastructure plan and I did that because this is a bread and butter issue for people that are caught in traffic jams. I think the Governor here in Michigan smartly ran on the slogan, "fix the damn roads,"
and it is an issue for union jobs. I would put $1 trillion into this, and I would pay for it by first of all changing the capital gains rate. I would take that money and put it in to rural broadband and green infrastructure.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Joe Sestak on Rural:
(Education Jul 9, 2019)
Universal pre-K; create "Training for a Lifetime"
Sestak wants to establish universal preschool, protect Common Core, increase broadband Internet connectivity (especially in rural areas), restructure student loans and provide grants for tuition at community colleges and public universities, establish a
national college credit transfer system, and create a "'Training for a Lifetime' program to increase opportunities for job training and continuing education."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Rural:
(Education Jul 9, 2019)
Universal pre-K; tuition grants; increased job training
Sestak wants to establish universal preschool, protect Common Core, increase broadband Internet connectivity (especially in rural areas), restructure student loans and provide grants for tuition at community colleges and public universities, establish a
national college credit transfer system, and create a "'Training for a Lifetime' program to increase opportunities for job training and continuing education."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com, 2019 interview series
Pete Buttigieg on Rural:
(Energy & Oil Jun 27, 2019)
Pittsburgh Summit instead of Paris Summit
Rural America can be part of the solution instead of being told they're part of the problem. With the right kind of soil management and investments, rural America could be a huge part of how we get this done.
We've got to look to the leadership of those networks of mayors in cities from around the world. We should have a Pittsburgh summit where we bring them together, as well as rejoining the Paris [accords].
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Joe Sestak on Rural:
(Education Jun 23, 2019)
Support Common Core and expand pre-K
As President, I will work every day to improve our educational and training system and ensure that every American can access the high-quality education and skills they deserve.Priorities:- Expand early childhood education to all 4-year-olds.
- Support state-led efforts like Common Core to create unified benchmarks for success.
- Increase broadband Internet connectivity across the country, especially in underserved rural and urban areas..
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Kirsten Gillibrand on Rural:
(Gun Control Jun 2, 2019)
NRA is the worst organization in America
[Fox News host Chris] Wallace drilled down on Gillibrand's one-time A-rating from the National Rifle Association -- a group she called the "worst organization in America" on Sunday night. When asked if her shift on the issue was political opportunism,
Gillibrand said that it was about "realizing that not every part of this country is like my rural, upstate New York district. We have to look beyond our own backyard," she said. "We must care about others."
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: Politico.com on Fox News Town Halls with Chris Wallace
Steve Bullock on Rural:
(Free Trade May 15, 2019)
End reckless trade war with China
Bullock has criticized President Donald Trump for his "reckless" trade war with China, which has hit farmers in rural states like Montana particularly hard. As governor, Bullock led trade missions to China, South Korea and Taiwan.
He is largely viewed as pro-business and has advocated for cautious government spending. As governor, Bullock launched economic initiatives aimed at boosting local businesses and economic productivity in rural communities.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2020, "Where the candidate stands on 9 issues"
John Delaney on Rural:
(Welfare & Poverty May 2, 2019)
Invest in rural America: opportunity zones & doubled EITC
Investment has been concentrated in a small number of cities and rural America has been left behind. Reversing this trend requires investment:- Student loan forgiveness for people that live and work in these communities for 10 years
-
Priority in government contracting to companies with a majority of employees in rural counties
- Fix opportunity zone legislation to focus more on operating businesses, rather than investing in real estate
- Double the EITC
-
Incentivize companies to build negative emission technology in rural America and coal country
- Create new SBIC and SBA Loan programs to encourage entrepreneurship and focus venture capital investment in rural
America, particularly agricultural and climate disruptive technologies
- Support entrepreneurship in rural communities and mid-sized cities adjacent to rural America
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website JohnDelaney.com
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Technology Apr 18, 2019)
Sweeping legislation that invests in green infrastructure
Q: Do you support increasing federal funding for clean-energy research?Ms. Klobuchar's campaign referred to her infrastructure plan, which calls for "sweeping legislation that invests in green infrastructure, modernizes our aging energy
infrastructure so that it is secure and efficient, strengthens bioenergy capabilities, puts incentives in place to overhaul our building codes, and invests in energy efficiency retrofits and rural renewable energy development."
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Elizabeth Warren on Rural:
(Welfare & Poverty Apr 16, 2019)
Build 3.2 million new affordable housing units
Housing Plan -- Warren's housing plan would provide federal funding to build 3.2 million new affordable housing units, investing "$2 billion to support borrowers with negative equity on their mortgages, predominantly in suburban and rural
communities," "down payment assistance to communities historically denied mortgages by the government," plus putting "$10 billion into a new competitive grant program that communities can use to build infrastructure, parks, roads, or schools."
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Current Affairs magazine, 2019 article series
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Corporations Apr 12, 2019)
Break up big agriculture corporations
Sanders rolled out a proposal to help revitalize rural farming communities and break up big agriculture corporations.
The comprehensive plan would enact "Roosevelt style trust-busting laws," address climate change and propose job training and education for farmers.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Budget & Economy Apr 4, 2019)
Focus on issues affecting small business, rural America
[On "heartland economics":] 'Heart' is about the heart of America, the middle of America, but it is also about economics with heart, which means you're looking out not just for the people at the top and the titans, you're looking out for people who are
working the economy. And what the Midwest did, when you go way back to the early 1900s, it was the Midwest that stood up on the antitrust issue.This is a political movement that started here, and it was a movement that said small farms matter, small
businesses matter, entrepreneurship matters, that's the engine, this is why our Founding Fathers moved from England, because they didn't want to be controlled by monopolies and the East India Company, and when they did they got really mad and threw the
tea into the water. Heartland economics is a focus on rural economics, which is very different in terms of critical access to hospitals, broadband, and making sure that [rural Americans] can have a piece of the action.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic, "Heartland Economics": 2020 Democratic primary
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Government Reform Mar 12, 2019)
Automatically register citizens to vote when they turn 18
Amy Klobuchar is trying to lay claim to the moderate middle. But that can be a tough sell, particularly when many of her rivals are touting big-ticket progressive goals like universal healthcare, free college education and aggressive attempts to address
income inequality.Her big idea: She offered a number of proposals during her time on stage [at the SXSW conference]--bringing broadband to rural areas, lowering prescription drug prices and some kind of transactional tax on technology companies that
sell information about their users. When I asked her to name her top idea, she opted for one she hadn't mentioned--passing a law automatically registering all citizens to vote when they turn 18.
Her biggest obstacle:
Raising the massive amount of money to fund a presidential campaign was her biggest obstacle, she told me. Allegations that she has been verbally abusive towards her Senate staff have dogged the early days of her campaign, however.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
Kamala Harris on Rural:
(Technology Mar 9, 2019)
Improve transportation infrastructure in rural communities
The California senator said she's committed to shoring up rural communities, a message the Democratic presidential hopeful shared with voters in some of the most sparsely populated parts of the early voting state of South Carolina.
Harris told a crowd of several hundred gathered in tiny
St. George that a national infrastructure of crumbling roads and bridges makes it difficult for people in communities like this one to get to their jobs, which may be miles and miles away.
Harris also said she wants to make changes to rural hospital funding, tweaks that she hopes will lead fewer health care facilities in such areas to close.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Sacramento Bee on 2019 SXSW conference
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Social Security Feb 18, 2019)
Address national debt without cutting entitlements
I have long been focused on this debt. I don't think this is the time to make some kind of wholesale changes to Social Security or Medicare. I think on the Social Security front you could lift the cap and basically put a donut hole in there and that
would help to pay for Social Security. That Republican tax bill went so low that once it went under 25 percent, every point was $100 billion. Think what that could pay for, for rural broadband all over this country, which I pledge to do by 2022.
Close the carried interest loophole. Bring the capital gains rate to the rate that we see for personal tax rates. One thing I would add to the mix, comprehensive immigration reform.
The bill we had back in 2013 brought the debt down $158 billion.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Gavin Newsom on Rural:
(Education Jan 7, 2019)
College without crushing debt for every young person
We will offer an alternative to the corruption and incompetence in the White House. Our government will be progressive, principled, and always on the side of the people. We will be a "California for All." We will not be divided between rural and
urban or north and south or coastal and inland. We will strive for solidarity and face our most threatening problems--together.
Everyone in California should have a good job with fair pay. Every child should have a great school and
a teacher who is supported and respected. Every young person should be able to go to college without crushing debt or to get the training they need to compete and succeed. And every senior should be able to retire with security and live at home
with dignity. That is the California Dream. Not to get rich quick or star on the big screen, but to work hard and share in the rewards. To leave a better future for our kids.
Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.
Source: 2019 California governor inaugural (State of the State)
Jay Inslee on Rural:
(Energy & Oil Jan 2, 2019)
Spur green R&D; restrict power plants and emissions
As he did in Washington State, [to deal with climate change] Inslee would propose a mix of government investments and incentives to spur other investment, restrictions on power plants and emissions, and programs to promote R&D and job growth.
An endless number of jobs can be created in the climate arena, Inslee says. It's the way to make a real dent in income inequality and have the Democratic Party bring tangible solutions to communities in rural America that have been left behind.
With his inaction, President Donald Trump--Inslee calls him "the commander in chief of delusion"--is engaged in a "disgusting selling-out of the country," a "crime"
against the aspirational optimism of America.He's put together an email list of 200,000 climate advocates, which could become a beachhead of support around the country [in his presidential run].
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic on 2020 presidential hopefuls, "Climate Change"
Deb Haaland on Rural:
(Abortion Oct 9, 2018)
Backs women's right to make their own reproductive decisions
I support a woman's right to choose when and how to have a child, full access to contraception and believe that everyone should have access to affordable healthcare--which means we need to expand access to abortion care.
Far too many rural women, poor women, and women of color simply do not have access to the healthcare they need to stay healthy. I believe that we need to protect access to care, not just choice about that care.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: 2018 NM-1st House campaign website DebForCongress.com
Deb Haaland on Rural:
(Welfare & Poverty Aug 28, 2018)
Against federal work requirements for SNAP; will hurt kids
NMPR: What is your stance regarding proposals to enact federal work requirements for SNAP, subsidized housing and other public assistance programs? DH: I'm generally against any of that if it's not federally mandated. A lot of people who are applying
to safety-net programs here in NM are from rural communities where jobs are very hard to come by. I'm against work requirements pretty much all the way, simply because we have a third of our children going to bed hungry every night in New Mexico.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: NMPoliticalReport.com coverage of 2018 NM-1 House race
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Corporations Jan 11, 2018)
Fund $10M program to support rural business
But to reinvigorate more of our smaller communities, we need to incentivize companies and rural entrepreneurs, or the urban ones who want to be rural, to take a chance and start a business where they're needed the most.
That's why we just announced a ten-million-dollar Rural Venture Fund to focus equity investment and access to capital in rural parts of the state, similar to what they've done along the front range.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2018 Colorado State of the State address
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Corporations Jan 11, 2018)
5-year initiative to support startup businesses
Startup Colorado is a five-year initiative to organize and convene startups around the state. We're expanding our Blueprint and Rural Jumpstart economic development programs.
Maybe we need to expand the Jumpstart incentive to seven years? We're backstopping loans for rural markets that allow businesses and startups to get more access to capital. Maybe we should do more?
Working closely with business and education leaders, in a public-private partnership, Colorado is igniting an apprenticeship renaissance with Careerwise. We're connecting companies, talent, K-12 schools, community colleges and training centers.
Within a decade we want to see twenty-thousand students per year receiving college credit, developing skills, and learning how business works.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2018 State of the State address to the Colorado legislature
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Education Jan 11, 2018)
Increase investment in education by additional $100M
Today, in almost every part of Colorado, zip code still determines your educational outcome. And that determines your economic outcome. This needs to change. We re-convened the Education Leadership Council to build a long-term vision and path forward.
We're pumping an additional one hundred million dollars above enrollment and inflation into our schools this year, and adding ten million dollars to address teacher shortages in rural areas.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2018 Colorado State of the State address
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Energy & Oil Jan 11, 2018)
Close coal plants: cleaner air AND lower utility bills
The responsibility to be good stewards doesn't only fall on rural parts of the state. It rests with all of us. Xcel has submitted a plan to close two coals plants in Pueblo. This will clean our air and lower costs for consumers--and lead
to greater investments that support twenty-first-century careers. What is it the critics don't like? Is it the cleaner air or the lower utility bills? Clean air matters.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2018 State of the State address to the Colorado legislature
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Health Care Jan 11, 2018)
ObamaCare not perfect; it has helped but needs improvement
We need our friends in Washington to finally move past the tired fight over the Affordable Care Act. It's not perfect, and we need to strengthen it in lots of ways--but it has helped reduce our uninsured rate by half. 600,000 Coloradans--many from
rural parts of the state--now have coverage who didn't before. It has helped save lives. When we're secure in our health care, we're more likely to take a chance and start a business.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2018 State of the State address to the Colorado legislature
Stacey Abrams on Rural:
(Budget & Economy Sep 1, 2017)
Invest in community businesses
Small businesses employ more Georgians, and they can be started anywhere. As Governor, she will direct more economic development dollars to hometown businesses.
Funds will be targeted to reach low-income communities and rural counties, and we will help Georgia businesses expand by offering access to capital.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.
Source: 2018 Georgia Gubernatorial website StaceyAbrams.com
Stacey Abrams on Rural:
(Corporations Aug 17, 2017)
Invest in community businesses
Small businesses employ more Georgians, and they can be started anywhere. As Governor, she will direct more economic development dollars to hometown businesses.
Funds will be targeted to reach low-income communities and rural counties, and we will help Georgia businesses expand by offering access to capital.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.
Source: 2018 Georgia Governor website StaceyAbrams.com
Stacey Abrams on Rural:
(Health Care Aug 17, 2017)
Expand Medicaid; explore universal coverage
Stacey worked to sign Georgians up for the Affordable Care Act and she has fought for Medicaid expansion. As governor,
Stacey will work to expand Medicaid and provide coverage for 500,000 Georgians, create 56,000 jobs, stabilize our rural counties and explore pathways to universal coverage in our state.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.
Source: 2018 Georgia Governor website StaceyAbrams.com
Stacey Abrams on Rural:
(Tax Reform May 2, 2017)
Ask everyone to do their fair share
Families deserve a government committed to creating vibrant economy, promoting rural recovery and helping small businesses thrive. Democrats understand that citizens expect more of their government than simply taxes and regulation. We want government
that works for and with the people. We expect a government that asks everyone to do his or her fair share and to play by the rules. We demand a government that understands its business--to spend our tax dollars wisely.I support legislation that
promotes shared responsibility: legislation that fixes government so it works for everyone, promotes democracy and civil engagement, and protects taxpayer's investments. We must reject attempts to limit success to the privileged few and to restrict
personal liberty.
This balance--fostering a broad range of opportunity while fighting government infringement on our freedoms--this balance is the objective of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.
Source: 2018 Georgia governor campaign website StaceyAbrams.com
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Health Care Nov 15, 2016)
Real issue is healthcare at all, for rural poor
In Mississippi I learned why health care must be a right of all people, and that must happen as soon as possible. I met with a group of African-American health care workers in the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center in Jackson MS. They described
the dismal health care conditions for poor people in that state and how there were entire counties there that had NO doctors. Think about it: In the USA, entire counties that have no doctors.In Mississippi, it also turned out that many people,
despite being poor, were ineligible for Medicaid because of stringent and unfair state requirements. My Republican colleagues in Congress tell me, over and over again, that we have the "greatest" health care system in the world. Really? In Mississippi,
and in many other areas of the country, there are counties in low-income areas where thousands of people have no health insurance at all and, for those who do, there is no access to medical care at all. That system doesn't sound so "great" to me.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 57-8
Nikki Haley on Rural:
(Education Jan 20, 2016)
Incentivize teachers to work in rural districts
We will aggressively start recruiting teachers to rural districts and, just as aggressively, incentivizing them to stay there. If a student agrees to teach in a challenged district for eight years, we will cover the full cost of their education at a
state university. For recent graduates who agree to the same commitment, we will repay their student loans. For career educators who want to grow professionally and teach in these challenged districts, we will cover the cost of their graduate coursework.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to South Carolina legislature
Nikki Haley on Rural:
(Immigration Jan 12, 2016)
Immigrants have come for generations to live the dream
I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants who reminded my brothers, my sister and me every day how blessed we were to live in this country. Growing up in the rural south, my family didn't look like our neighbors, and we didn't have much.
There were times that were tough, but we had each other, and we had the opportunity to do anything, to be anything, as long as we were willing to work for it.
My story is really not much different from millions of other Americans. Immigrants have been coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is America. They wanted better for their children than for themselves.
That remains the dream of all of us, and in this country we have seen time and again that that dream is achievable.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: Republican Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Gun Control Oct 13, 2015)
Bring together rural states & urban states with common sense
SANDERS: I come from a rural state, and the views on gun control in rural states are different than in urban states. Our job is to bring people together around strong, commonsense gun legislation. O'MALLEY:
Have you ever been to the Eastern Shore? Have you ever been to Western Maryland? We were able to pass this and still respect the hunting traditions of people who live in our rural areas. We did it by leading with principle, not by pandering to the NRA.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Amy Klobuchar on Rural:
(Environment Aug 24, 2015)
I don't think manure is toxic waste
[At the Farmfest debate in August 2006], Congressman Kennedy and I got questions about renewable fuels, rural development, dairy and crop programs. But the most memorable part of the debate focused on--of all things--manure.As the Owatonna People's
Press reported: "Kennedy came out swinging first, telling the crowd that Klobuchar is supported by an special interest group--the League of Conservation Voters, which he never named from the stage--that considers manure a toxic waste."
"I don't want
to get into the manure here," I shot back, "but I don't think manure is a toxic waste." After the debate, I quipped: "If he wants to go down into the manure, I will go down with him."
The media couldn't help but take it from there. "Politicians spread
manure at Farmfest," the headline in the Mankato Free Press reported after the debate. "Kennedy's manure spin just doesn't pass the smell test," Willmar's West Central Tribune chimed in. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 MN Senate Debate in The Senator Next Door, p.210
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Gun Control Jun 28, 2015)
Gun legislation must work for both rural & urban Americans
Q: Recently you've been criticized as not being truly progressive when it comes to gun control. What's your response to that?SANDERS: Well, I think the people of Vermont know differently. They know in every single race that I have run,
with the exception of one, the NRA and other gun lobbyists supported my opponent.
I voted for banning assault weapons, doing away with the gun show loophole and fighting for instant background checks so that we make sure that guns do not fall in the hands of those people who should not have it. So, I have a strong record.
But what we need to do is bridge this cultural divide between rural America and urban America and come up with some common sense legislation that accommodates everybody. What we really need is a national dialogue.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Nikki Haley on Rural:
(Education Jan 21, 2015)
Incentives for teachers, including tuition & grad school
We've proposed a new initiative that will help our rural schools get, and keep, the kind of highly qualified teachers their students deserve.- First, if a student graduating high school is willing to spend eight years teaching in their underserved
home district after college, we will pay for up to four years of tuition at a state school.
- Second, if a teacher who has graduated from college and is burdened by student loans commits to teach in a rural district, we will contribute to their student
loan repayment.
- Third, if a teacher has less than five years' experience and begins teaching in an eligible district, he or she will receive a pay bump, advancing his or her salary to the level of a teacher five years further down the road.
-
Finally, if a teacher wants to attend graduate school at a state college or university, we will cover the cost of that education, again in exchange for a commitment to teach in a rural or underserved district.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 South Carolina Assembly
Howard Schultz on Rural:
(Free Trade Nov 9, 2014)
Bring manufacturing back, even at cost to bottom line
Q: What would be your recipe for the rural economy? They were one-manufacturer towns, right? That manufacturer leaves. So what do you do? HOWARD SCHULTZ: Well, let me tell you an example. I was in East Liverpool, Ohio, right outside of Pittsburgh.
We saw an old factory that has been out of work for over ten years. A pottery factory. We went to that factory. Starbucks gave them an order, and we started employing people and we started that factory. Businesses across the country need to recognize
we need to bring manufacturing back to America. And these rural towns cannot be left behind.
Q: Do you think it should be a priority of companies to decide, even if it's not the best for the bottom line, to rebuild rural America?
SCHULTZ: The rules of engagement for a public company today have changed dramatically. It's not only about the bottom line. There has to be a balance between profitability and doing everything we can to get the country moving again.
Click for Howard Schultz on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2014 interview by Chuck Todd
Cory Booker on Rural:
(Technology Jul 1, 2014)
Invest in Next-Gen air traffic; broadband, and smart grid
- Increase funding for Next Gen Satellite-based airplane traffic control system: A safe and efficient air travel system is central to our economy. But the US air traffic control system--a ground-based, radar system developed in the 1950s--has not
been upgraded in decades. With Next-Gen GPS-based technology, businesses can count on a faster and more reliable air transport system.
- Bring broadband to underserved urban and rural communities: Nearly 19 million Americans are without broadband
internet access. This is unacceptable in today's interconnected society. The internet unlocks worlds of opportunity, and no one should be deprived of the key.
- Create a national smart grid: Upgrading our electric grid to allow businesses, homes, and
other end users to send energy use data back to utilities increases resiliency and stability, and can empower businesses and consumers to use energy more efficiently. Smart grid spending also generates a more than two-to-one return on investment.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: 2014 New Jersey Senate campaign website CoryBooker.com
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Environment Dec 5, 2013)
Develop federal land instead of protecting the sage grous
[On a tour to address issues raised by the "51st State Initiative" secession movement], Hickenlooper has been spending a lot of time talking to voters and county commissioners in the rural counties. He recently accepted an invitation to hear the concerns
of Moffat County residents (one of the breakaway counties that voted against pursuing secession) and he announced his disagreement with a proposal by the Bureau of Land Management to protect the sage grouse from oil and gas development on federal lands,
a proposal that some northwestern counties worry could impact their economies.His critics received some of these efforts coolly. The Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer said she wasn't happy with Hickenlooper's answer when asked if he would
scrap the renewable energy law. He said opponents were welcome to introduce bills to modify it. But she said she hopes that after all the turmoil recently, "he will at least listen better this year, this time around."
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: The Daily Caller on 2014 Colorado Governor race
John Hickenlooper on Rural:
(Local Issues Dec 5, 2013)
51st State Initiative: I got the message on secession
Hickenlooper said that an attempt by 11 rural counties to secede from the state and form their own will ultimately make Colorado stronger. Hickenlooper, campaigning for a second term amid widespread disapproval of his policies in rural areas, has been
trying to mend fences lately and convince rural voters that he also has their interests in mind. "I can't imagine Colorado being Colorado without the eastern plains," he said before the election in which five of the 11 counties voted to proceed with the
so-called 51st State Initiative. "If this talk of a 51st state is about politics designed to divide us, it is destructive. But if it is about sending a message, then I see our responsibility to lean in and do a better job of listening."This week
Hickenlooper told Colorado Counties Inc. that he'd gotten the message, loud and clear. The secession question "really led to discussions that are going to make each of your counties stronger and, I think, ultimately make the state stronger," he said.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: The Daily Caller on 2014 Colorado Governor race
Nikki Haley on Rural:
(Jobs Jan 16, 2013)
Fought unionization; new jobs in 45 of 46 counties
In two years, we have announced new jobs in forty-five of South Carolina's forty-six counties. We've announced more than 6,300 new jobs to rural areas of our state.We've cut taxes on small business.
We've passed tort reform that, for the first time ever, puts a cap on lawsuit damages.
We've fought against the unionization of South Carolina, cherishing the direct relationship between our companies--who know how to take care of those that take care of them--and their employees.
We've, through the Department of Social Services, moved more than 14,000 families from welfare to work. We've created an Agribusiness partnership to showcase the largest industry in our state.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the State address to S. C. Legislature
Steve Bullock on Rural:
(Energy & Oil Nov 6, 2012)
Develop our resources for American energy independence
Steve believes Montana can:- create good paying jobs in research, technology, development and manufacturing and attract businesses to invest here,
- lead the country in educational innovation, opportunity and achievement--and be a place
where students are able to graduate from college without debt,
- be a place that maintains its rural identity,
- responsibly develop our resources and lead the way to American energy independence and a clean energy future.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: Montana Governor campaign 2012 website, www.stevebullock.com
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Budget & Economy Oct 9, 2012)
Dairy price fluctuations help no one but speculators
Vermont's rural communities and its working landscape were formed by dairy farms. Its rural communities, and its working landscape, continue to be shaped by dairy farms today. Farms, unlike businesses that can slow down or increase production, often
face a stark choice: when prices drop, and loans are called in, they all too frequently must be sold. And then, suddenly, there is not enough milk, and the price of cheese and milk to consumers rises rapidly.
These huge fluctuations help no one but speculators--not consumers, not dairy-based businesses, not tractor salesmen--and they particularly do not help or sustain farmers.
The best policy is to develop a system of supply management, so that dairy farmers never severely overproduce or underproduce, thereby stabilizing prices and ensuring a sufficient amount of high-quality dairy products for our country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Sanders Intro to `Milk Money`, by K. Kardashian, p. vii-viii
Howard Schultz on Rural:
(Environment Mar 27, 2012)
Protect earth's resources and promote sustainable farming
Between 2000 and 2005, the company and our partners committed more than $47 million to local communities around the world to support efforts such as youth and literacy programs in the United States and Canada like Jumpstart; improved education
opportunities in rural China; and aid for the victims of disasters. With donations and thousands of volunteer hours, our partners supported charities and improvement projects in the communities where they worked. We joined with Global Green USA to raise
environmental awareness. We take significant steps to reduce our stores' environmental impact by purchasing renewable energy, reducing water consumption, and conserving energy. In 2001, our Fairtrade purchases reached 10 million pounds, making us North
America's largest purchaser, roaster, and retailer of Fairtrade green coffee beans. In 2001, with Conservation International, we created our own sourcing guidelines to ensure that the coffee we bought was ethically grown and responsibly traded.
Click for Howard Schultz on other issues.
Source: Onward, by Howard Schultz, p. 18-20
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Health Care Oct 11, 2011)
2009: Accused of "Obamunism" and "Chains We Can Believe In"
Obama left Washington a few days after the passage of health-care reform. He hoped to explain the new legislation directly to constituents, highlighting how it would affect students, small-business owners, and people with preexisting conditions. Instead,
political discourse had turned into an angry shouting match.On one sidewalk, liberals wore Obama t-shirts while chanting "Yes we did!". On the other sidewalk, middle-aged conservatives and retirees from rural Iowa waved homemade signs.
"This bill is
Communism!" one protester shouted. "Obamunism!" yelled another.
Millions of Americans believed their government had ignored their wishes by forging ahead with health-care reform despite a mounting wave of opposition. Polls showed that Obama's
signature bill remained stunningly unpopular. 2/3 of Americans thought it would cost too much; 44% expected the quality of their health care to decline, while only 8% expected it to improve.
A homemade sign read "Chains We Can Believe In."
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Ten Letters, by Eli Saslow, p.106-107
Michael Bennet on Rural:
(Environment Oct 8, 2010)
$5 million to begin work on the Arkansas Valley Conduit
On the Arkansas River basin: Both men said they wanted to protect rural water supplies but Bennet made a point of having supported the $5 million budget appropriation to begin work on the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a planned water pipeline from Lake Pueblo
to 40 valley communities. Congress authorized the project in 1962 but had never appropriated money until this year. Buck dismissed that to the crowd. "(Bennet) stood up and took credit for a conduit that others had worked on for 10 years," he said.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: Pueblo Chieftan coverage of 2010 Colorado Senate Debate
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Principles & Values Aug 5, 2008)
Mother raised in Unitarian Church with secular values
[Obama's grandparents] Stanley and Madelyn Dunham shed the quaint faith and suffocating values of rural Kansas. They had even begun attending East Shore Unitarian Church--often referred to in Seattle as "the little Red church on the hill"--for its libera
theology and politics. Barack would later describe this as the family's "only skirmish into organized religion" and explain that Stanley "liked the idea that Unitarians drew on the scriptures of all the great religions," excitedly proclaiming, "It's like
you get five religions in one!"The Unitarian Affirmation of Faith does serve to hint at what the Dunhams accepted as true: "the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, the leadership of Jesus, salvation by character, and the progress of mankind
onward and upward forever." However, they were likely skeptics--Barack says that Madelyn espoused a "flinty rationalism"--regarding the divinity of Jesus, whom they would have accepted as one good moral teacher among many but certainly not a god.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The FAITH of Barack Obama, by Stephen Mansfield, chapter 1
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Foreign Policy Aug 1, 2008)
Dressed in Africa in traditional garb, not "Muslim attire"
The infamous photograph of Obama in African garb was originally published by Afrika Online on Sept. 1, 2006. The photo shows Obama dressed as a Somali elder. The photo is authentic; it was taken during Obama's visit to a rural area in northeastern Kenya.
There is little doubt Obama wore the Somali elder garb, but we can easily find dozens of photos of U.S. politicians wearing local costume during overseas travel.On February 4, 2008, the tabloid National Enquirer published the photo in an article that
asserted Obama was wearing "Muslim attire" on a trip to Kenya. The Obama campaign decried the National Enquirers sensationalism, arguing that Obama was dressed in traditional tribal garb, not "Muslim attire," much as Pres. Bush might take on traditional
native costumes when meeting in foreign countries. The Obama campaign was right: Somalia is almost entirely Sunni Muslim, so in that sense the Somali elder garb would of course be Islamic.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama Nation, by Jerome Corsi, p. 94
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Education Jun 15, 2008)
Pay for college education for those who commit to teaching
We need to recruit an army of new teachers. I’ll make this pledge: If you commit your life to teaching, America will pay for your college education. We’ll recruit teachers in math and science, and deploy them to under-staffed school districts in our
inner cities and rural America. We’ll expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. And when our teachers succeed, I won’t just talk about how great they are--I’ll reward their greatness with better pay and more support.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech in Flint, MI, in Change We Can Believe In, p.250
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Environment Feb 2, 2008)
Regulate animal feeding operations for pollution
AT A GLANCE- Protecting the Rural Environment: Obama will work for tougher regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to prevent air & water pollution.
THE PROBLEM- CAFOs Pollute the
Environment: Manure spills kill millions of fish and jeopardize public health.
OBAMA’S PLAN- Regulate CAFOs:Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency will strictly regulate pollution from large CAFOs, with fines for those that
violate tough standards. Obama also supports meaningful local control.
- Partner with Landowners to Conserve Private Lands:Obama will increase incentives for farmers and private landowners to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands,
grasslands, and forests.
- Encourage Organic and Local Agriculture:Obama will help organic farmers afford to certify their crops and reform crop insurance to not penalize organic farmers. He also will promote regional food systems.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 31-34
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Jobs Feb 2, 2008)
Focus farm programs on family farms, not giant corporations
AT A GLANCE- Family Farms: Our farm programs should help family farmers, not giant corporations, with fair access to markets, control over their production decisions, and fair prices for their goods.
THE PROBLEM-
Family Farmers are Being Squeezed: Farm consolidation has made it harder for mid-size family farmers to get fair prices.
- Rural Communities are Often Left Behind: Because of lack of infrastructure and remote distances, there is less access
to quality doctors, and schools have trouble recruiting teachers.
OBAMA’S PLAN- Strong Safety Net for Family Farmers: Obama will implement a $250,000 payment limitation so that we help family farmers--not large corporate
agribusiness.
- Prevent Anticompetitive Behavior Against Family Farms:Obama is a strong supporter of a packer ban. When meatpackers own livestock they can manipulate prices and discriminate against independent farmers.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 31-34
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Corporations Dec 13, 2007)
Cap the farm subsidies for Fortune 500 companies
We’ve got folks in Manhattan and Fortune 500 companies who are getting farm subsidies, while family farms are getting squeezed out. This is something you hear about all across rural Iowa. I would cap those subsidies. We have to have a structure that are
provides protection for farmers if a drought or collapse in market prices, but we have to take that money that is saved, invest in conservation, invest in organic and alternative crops, invest in nutrition programs. Through that process we cannot only
save the land, but we can also improve the economic engines in a lot of these rural communities, and that is something that I’m absolutely committed to doing as president, but it’s going to require overcoming the excess influence of agribusiness lobbying
There were elements of the [Senate farm bill] to replace traditional subsidies for certain crops and shift the money to conservation and nutrition and biofuels programs that did not make the changes I would have, so I would have voted against it.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Education Nov 15, 2007)
Get more teachers into hard-to-serve areas
I support school-based merit pay. We need to get more teachers to go into hard-to-serve areas. We’ve got to get them into underserved urban areas, underserved rural areas. The school is a team, and it’s important that we reward that collaboration.
A child who moves from kindergarten to sixth grade in the same school, every one of those teachers is going to affect that child. You need to weed out the teachers not doing a good job. That’s the bottom line. They should not be teaching our children.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Nevada
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Families & Children Oct 23, 2007)
Served as chairman of the Children's Defense Fund
Hillary had served as chairman of the Children's Defense Fund, a national advocacy group, and in Arkansas had run a commission to improve the public school system, which had been ranked among the worst in the nation. Her track record on health policy was
limited to having helped her husband put together a program expanding medical care into rural areas of Arkansas and serving on the board of the children's hospital in Little Rock. Her knowledge, she later admitted, was that of "a concerned citizen."
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: For Love of Politics, by Sally Bedell Smith, Chapter 2
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Education Sep 4, 2007)
1986: HIPPY program empowers parents as kids' first teach
Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters was developed in Israel in 1969 to help new immigrants prepare their young children to succeed in school. HIPPY empowers parents as their children's first teachers by giving them the tools, skills, and
confidence to work with their children at home. The program is designed to help those families coping with poverty.In 1986, Hillary helped establish a HIPPY program in Arkansas. Hillary wrote, "When we brought HIPPY into rural areas and housing
projects in Arkansas, a number of educators and others did not believe that parents who had not finished high school were up to the task of teaching their children. Not only did the program help kids get jump-started in the right direction, it also gave
the parents a boost in self-confidence." In 1988, HIPPY USA was established as an independent NGO headquartered in New York City. There are now about 146 HIPPY programs in twenty-five states, serving more than sixteen thousand children anf their families.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Giving, by Bill Clinton, p. 71-73
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Families & Children Sep 4, 2007)
Grew AR Children's Hospital to one of nation's 10 largest
Hillary cofounded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; served on the board of our Children's Hospital and helped with its fund-raising drive (it became one of the nation's ten largest children's hospitals in a state with o
2.8 million people); brought an excellent preschool program form Israel to poor families in our state; headed a task force that increased access to health care for people in small towns and rural areas; and chaired a committee that devel
standards for our schools.Hillary did the things she did because she wanted to make a difference. And she did then because it made her happy to see another baby in a small town get health care, another young child smiling at her pre
ceremony, another student from a rural area become the first in his family to go to college, another woman break through the glass ceiling at a law firm.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Giving, by Bill Clinton, p. xi
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Free Trade Jun 28, 2007)
End tax breaks for outsourcing jobs
Q [to Sen. Gravel]: A lot of Americans are concerned with outsourcing of US jobs. What’s your solution?GRAVEL: Outsourcing is not the problem. What is the problem is our trade agreements that benefit the management & the shareholders.
CLINTON: Well,
outsourcing is a problem, and it’s one that I’ve dealt with as a senator from New York. I started an organization called New Jobs for New York to try to stand against the tide of outsourcing, particularly from upstate New York and from rural areas.
We have to do several things: end the tax breaks that still exist in the tax code for outsourcing jobs, have trade agreements with enforceable labor and environmental standards, help Americans compete, which is something we haven’t taken seriously. 65%
of kids do not go on to college. What are we doing to help them get prepared for the jobs that we could keep here that wouldn’t be outsourced--and find a new source of jobs, clean energy, global warming, would create millions of new jobs for Americans.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Health Care Jun 3, 2007)
Give people the choice to buy affordable health care
We’ve got these savings and we’re still going to have to do a little bit more, partly because you’ve got to invest up front in, for example, information technology so that rural hospitals that don’t have computers are able to buy them.
And they’re going to need some help. But on this issue of mandatory versus non-mandatory, people are not going around trying to avoid buying health care coverage. If you look at auto insurance, in California there’s mandatory auto insurance.
Twenty-five percent of the folks don’t have it. The reason is because they can’t afford it. I’m committed to starting the process. Everybody who wants it can buy it and it’s affordable. If we have some gaps remaining, we will work on that.
You take it from the opposite direction, but you’re still going to have some folks who aren’t insured under your plan, John, because some of them will simply not be able to afford to buy the coverage they’re offered.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Homeland Security Jun 3, 2007)
Address the deficiencies in the VA system
We don’t have a full-service VA system, so a lot of troops that have been injured are having to travel elsewhere, and that’s something that we have to address. There are important efficiencies that we can obtain by having a VA hospital system; for
example, prescription drugs. But we have to have a VA that serves everybody. In some rural communities that the veterans don’t have access to the services needed, we’ve got to make sure that they do have the option for a private hospital that is close by
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Corporations Apr 26, 2007)
Corporate elite treat working-class America as invisible
Q: Overall, is Wal-Mart a good thing or a bad thing for the United States of America? A: Well, it’s a mixed blessing. When Wal-Mart started, it brought goods into rural areas, like rural Arkansas where I was happy to live for 18 years, and gave people
a chance to stretch their dollar further. As they grew much bigger, though, they have raised serious questions about the responsibility of corporations & how they need to be a leader when it comes to providing health care & having safe working conditions
and not discriminating on the basis of sex or race. This is all part, though, of how this administration and corporate America today don’t see middle class and working Americans. They are invisible. They don’t understand that if you’re a family that
can’t get health care, you are really hurting. But to the corporate elite and to the White House, you’re invisible. So we need to get both public sector and private sector leadership to start stepping up and being responsible and taking care of people.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: MSNBC on 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Technology Feb 10, 2007)
Broadband in heart of inner cities and rural towns
Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let’s set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let’s recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and
more support in exchange for more accountability. Let’s make college more affordable, and let’s invest in scientific research, and let’s lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech in Springfield, in Change We Can Believe In, p.198
Kirsten Gillibrand on Rural:
(Health Care Nov 7, 2006)
Medicare for all; allow drug reimportation
Healthcare- Allow anyone to buy into Medicare
- Increase funding and access to rural health care
- Insure every child in America Prescription Drugs
-
Allow the government to negotiate directly with the drug companies for Medicare
- Allow the U.S. to import drugs from Canada
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, gillibrand2006.com, “Issues”
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Jobs Oct 11, 2006)
Passed 2 planks of 7-plank platform, “New Jobs for New York”
Hillary’s “New Jobs for New York” platform included 7 measures to create 200,000 jobs in NY:- Create “technology bonds” to fund interest-free loans to improve Internet access.
- A “Broadband Expansion Grant Initiative” to provide grants
& loan guarantees to fund networks in “under-served rural areas.”
- Fund research on broadband technology in rural areas.
- Tax credits for small businesses that created jobs in smaller communities.
- Federal funding for “entrepreneurs who have
good ideas but cannot afford lawyers and consultants to help them.“
- Funding for the Commerce Department’s Cooperative Extension Service to allow it to subsidize non-agricultural technologies.
- Create ”Regional Skills Alliances“ to provide training
to technology workers.
She got two of her plan’s seven measures signed into law. Despite promising to create 200,000 jobs, NY lost 35,800 jobs. Clinton blamed NY’s poor job performance on GOP economic policies.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p. 56-59
Ken Salazar on Rural:
(Health Care Aug 11, 2004)
Take next steps toward universal coverage
As your United States Senator, my priorities will be to look at innovative ways to reduce health care costs, make health insurance more affordable, provide health care to the uninsured, lower prescription drug costs, and tackle the unique health care
challenges of rural Colorado and elsewhere.Next Steps Toward Universal Coverage - Cover employees of small business and the self-employed - I want to help small businesses provide health insurance with tax credits.
-
Cover every child - I will push to expand the CHIP program and provide new tax credits to help parents purchase health insurance for their children.
- Expand options and reduce the cost of insurance coverage for everyone - I want to authorize the
creation of voluntary purchasing groups to make more choices widely available.
- Protect the unemployed - I will urge adoption of a 75 percent tax credit for middle-income workers who are in between jobs to help them purchase COBRA coverage.
Click for Ken Salazar on other issues.
Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, SalazarForColorado.com
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Budget & Economy May 2, 2004)
Supports federal programs to protect rural economy
Our rural communities are the backbone of Illinois. Yet, factories have closed, jobs have disappeared, and homes and farms have been foreclosed upon. Effective federal programs are necessary to protect the rural economy.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, ObamaForIllinois.com
Barack Obama on Rural:
(Education May 2, 2004)
Will add 25,000 teachers in high-need areas
Obama will fight for full funding for Head Start and expanded pre-school, so every child starts school ready to learn. He has proposed a national network of teaching academies to add 25,000 new teachers to high-need urban and rural schools.
And, he will work to send deserving students to college through loan programs that help middle-class families instead of banks.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, ObamaForIllinois.com
Jesse Ventura on Rural:
(Civil Rights Dec 10, 2000)
Respect diversity, both cultural and lifestyle
The next census will reveal a newly-diverse population characterized by widely diverse races, heritage, cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles. Diversity is not something that will happen sometime off in the future. It is the best word to capture the
total picture of life right now in urban, suburban, and yes, rural communities across Minnesota. The Governor refers to the Constitution when he reminds us that every citizen is afforded certain inalienable rights. He touches his own beliefs when he
observes that “Love is bigger than government.” In other words, government is required to ensure that every person has an equal access to education, and is not denied housing or a job or services because of who they are or what they believe. At the
same time, the Governor cautions that the best government protections are insufficient to protect against the pain and inhumanity caused by individual acts of prejudice.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: The Big Plan: Healthy, Vital Communities
Jesse Ventura on Rural:
(Jobs Dec 10, 2000)
Improve the Competitive Position of Rural Minnesota
Agriculture is a critical segment of Minnesota’s economy. Our farm and rural families are an important part of Minnesota’s identity and culture. Today farmers face many economic, social and environmental challenges. State agencies
should work with farmers and the rural communities to help them share in the economic growth that is experienced in the rest of the state. State agencies should also help farmers by reducing unnecessary obstacles that
limit their ability to be competitive in the world marketplace, while at the same time, helping to safeguard the environment and our food supply. Likewise, we need to help make our rural communities centers of economic activity
to provide employment opportunities to keep young people in their communities and to provide off-farm employment for families that need to supplement their farm income.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: The Big Plan: Healthy, Vital Communities
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Health Care Aug 1, 1999)
1979: Developed program to deliver rural healthcare
In 1979, Bill Clinton named Hillary Rodham to head a state board. As chair of the forty four member state Rural Health Advisory Committee, she helped develop a program to deliver adequate health care to people in small, isolated communities.
The appointment was made without fanfare, and there were no public condemnations by partisan opponents.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: The Inside Story, by Judith Warner, p.102
Howard Schultz on Rural:
(Foreign Policy Jan 6, 1999)
CARE programs in rural areas in Third World
In April 1989, CARE, the worldwide relief & development foundation, included a picture of Starbucks' Dave Olsen. After traveling to almost every coffee-growing region in the world, Dave knew only too well how poor the living conditions are in rural areas
of the Third World. By paying a premium to farmers who grow high-quality coffee, he believes we are inherently supporting local economies while also providing incentives for better-quality coffee. [In addition, Starbucks was] enthusiastic about helping
improve their lives through an organization with a proven track record.Dave talked to me about CARE, & we both liked its approach. CARE programs don't just feed the hungry, they help improve basic living standards in poor countries by such efforts as
educating people about basic health care and helping them get across to cleaner water. Although we were then a small, private company with annual sales of less than $20 million, we liked the idea of giving back to coffee-origin countries through CARE.
Click for Howard Schultz on other issues.
Source: Pour Your Heart Into It, by Howard Schultz, p.294-295
Bernie Sanders on Rural:
(Gun Control Jun 17, 1997)
I'm pro-hunting, but no one needs an AK-47 to hunt
During the 1994 campaign the NRA had played a very forceful role against me. They distributed widely a "Bye, Bye, Bernie" bumper sticker. Vermont is a rural state in which tens of thousands of people enjoy hunting and own guns. VT is an "outdoor"
state--and hunting is a key part of that way of life. I am pro-gun, and pro-hunting. But I don't believe that hunters need assault weapons and AK-47s to kill deer. I voted for the ban on assault weapons, which brought the wrath of the NRA down on me.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Outsider in the House, by Bernie Sanders, p. 38-9
Hillary Clinton on Rural:
(Welfare & Poverty Feb 3, 1997)
Microcredit is an invaluable tool in alleviating poverty.
Microcredit is a macro idea. This is a big idea, an idea with vast potential. Whether we are talking about a rural area in South Asia or an inner-city in the US, microcredit is an invaluable tool in alleviating poverty.
Microcredit projects can create a ripple effect- not only in lifting individuals out of poverty and moving mothers from welfare to work, but in creating jobs, promoting businesses and building capital in depressed areas.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Remarks at Microcredit Summit in Washington D.C.
Mike Gravel on Rural:
(Education Jan 1, 1972)
25% bonus for teachers in hardship areas
Needy children are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to the quality of instruction. It is understandable that the most experienced, best qualified teachers would choose to pursue their profession in wealthy neighborhoods.
Yet, it is the not-so-safe neighborhoods, the not-so-fine schools, and the not-so-advantaged students which most need skilled teachers. The long-range solution is obvious: eradicate urban slums and rural blight. In the meantime, however, I proposed a
federally supported supplementary salary program to reward those men and women who elect to teach in educationally deprived areas. Surely if we can pay government and military personnel as much as a 25% bonus for serving in so-called “hardship” areas,
we can do as much for teachers here at home. Such a program would enable financially struggling districts to compete more favorably with their wealthier counterparts in recruiting the talent to provide the quality of instruction needed by youth.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: Citizen Power, by Sen. Mike Gravel, p.166-167
Mike Gravel on Rural:
(Government Reform Jan 1, 1972)
Abolish voter registration as precondition for voting
The case for not ending voter registration rests is that election fraud will result. I call that proposition into question. In rural areas, registration was never required; many states were merely swept up in the registration crusade which was aimed at
urban abuses. The experience of North Dakota, which has preserved its voter integrity for 20 years without registration, proves the feasibility of abolition.States could continue to enroll voters just as they do now. However, if an individual fails
to register before election day, he could sign an affidavit swearing he is a qualified voter in the precinct and that he has not voted elsewhere in the same election. He then would be allowed to vote, unless there was reason to doubt the sworn statement.
In that instance, the voter would be required to cast a challenged ballot and before it could be counted, the same checks could be made as are used under present registration systems. In addition, election day should be declared a national holiday.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: Citizen Power, by Sen. Mike Gravel, p. 38-39
Page last updated: Mar 02, 2022
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