Last week, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Rural Council. This council will focus on policy initiatives for Rural Americans.
As Chair of the YDA Rural Caucus, I am pleased to hear about the establishment of this council. Rural Americans, especially rural youth, face unique challenges day in and day out. Whether it is access to quality health care, jobs, or educational opportunities, it can be challenging to live in rural America.
We applaud the President and his administration for making strides in improving rural life. In the past few years, we have seen more access to broadband, the improvement of our health care system, and emphasis on alternative energy production. We are eager to see the policy initiatives that come as a result of this council.
Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, will be chairing the council. He stated:
βIn the end, millions of Americans are counting on us to ensure that young people growing up in rural places have a bright future ahead β that they can envision a tomorrow that includes a job, and a vibrant rural community that they can call home. Ensuring that tomorrow begins with the actions we take today.β
This council comes at a crucial time in rural America where many of our small towns are slowly losing population and jobs are leaving our communities. I hope this council seeks a solution to these and many of the other problems we face in rural America. As a young mother living in a rural area, I hope that my 4-month-old daughter will someday have the pleasure of raising her family in a small town. My upbringing in small town Oklahoma has made me the person I am and I am very proud of where I am from. We must find solutions for a better tomorrow so that future generations will get the pleasure of living a rich life in our rural communities.



