Press Releases
Arrington Holds West Texas Rural Summit
Lubbock, TX,
August 23, 2018
LUBBOCK – On Wednesday, Congressman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) hosted a “West Texas Rural Summit” with over 70 community leaders from across the region to discuss issues including the opioid epidemic, rural healthcare, and economic development. The summit featured Anne Hazlett, the Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as the keynote speaker.
“What we do in rural America is critical to our nation’s economy and security. The goal of our summit was to work together as a broader community of towns and counties throughout West Texas to address the challenges we face in rural America and to work collectively at all levels to make sure that we have not just viable communities, but thriving rural communities. We want a prosperous future for our small towns because they may be little, but they are filled with people who have big hearts and big dreams and they make a huge contribution to this great country,”Arrington said. “We want to identify where the pain points are, where the problems and opportunities are, and then get a plan together to take on those challenges and seize those opportunities so we can have prosperity. In rural America, we do that better than anybody.”
On the issue of health care in rural America, Arrington said, “Access to health care is a real challenge for families in rural America. We have to make sure we sustain rural hospitals who have taken a beating from the regulations and mandates out of Obamacare - over $50 billion in regulatory costs. Rural hospitals can’t make it work because they don’t have the patient base or the tax base. I sponsored a provision in the House Farm Bill that would allow rural hospitals to refinance at lower costs so they can make ends meet and provide basic health care to families in small towns. We can’t have ag and energy production without small towns that are sustainable. You can’t have that sustainability without critical infrastructure investment like health care.”
Discussing the opioid epidemic, Arrington said, “We as Congress have passed in a budget-neutral way over 70 pieces of legislation to address the opioid crisis. We have seen over 40,000 Americans die from drug overdose – many of whom were addicted to opioids. There are several ways to attack this problem – prevention, intervention, finding new therapies for pain management. Each community knows best how to address this challenge. Congress passed bills that mainly provide resources for them.”
On the topic of economic development, Arrington said, “Tax reform that Congress passed to free up the markets and regulatory relief we passed to reduce the burden on our small businesses, family farms and community banks has been a big part of economic development for rural communities. We need to make sure that we have pro-rural America policies in place whether its tax reform, trade, deregulation, or health care so that the future of rural America and places like West Texas is bright and that our kids will have as many opportunities as we did to raise their family and make a living in all of these wonderful towns.”
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