#ra

Rural Americans want leaders who help middle-class communities to plan and prosper over the long-term - not opportunists who reap the rewards for themselves, leaving nothing for the people who do the sowing. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#for the people #help #leaders #leaving #long-term

Although they are some of the hardest working folks I know, rural Americans earn, on average, $11,000 less than their urban counterparts each year. And they are more likely to live in poverty. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#average #counterparts #each #earn #folks

Democrats have always historically referred to our families as working families, and I have sort of changed that moniker. I think what we have is a nation of worried families - families that are concerned about job security, families who thought their pensions were secure and now have questions. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#always #changed #concerned #democrats #families

Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs. It's the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#activity #benefits #buy #direct #dollar

Food during my early years was a very difficult issue for me. I grew up in an addictive family. My mother had serious problems with alcohol and prescription drugs. I was an overweight kid. I can remember back in those days there weren't the strategies that there are today to deal with those issues. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#alcohol #back #days #deal #difficult

I don't think the face of the Democratic Party is Nancy Pelosi. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#democratic party #face #i #nancy #nancy pelosi

I wish I could give you all the examples over the last two years as secretary of agriculture, where I hear people in rural America constantly being criticized, without any expression of appreciation for what they do do. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#america #any #appreciation #being #constantly

In 2011, agricultural exports hit a record high and producers saw their best incomes in nearly 40 years. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#best #exports #high #hit #incomes

It is critical to develop a biofuel industry powered by feedstocks produced in every corner of the country, in addition to the Midwest. That is why USDA has established five regional research centers working on science necessary to ensure profitable biofuels can be produced from a diverse range of feedstocks. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#centers #corner #country #critical #develop

Let us build a 21st-century rural economy of cutting-edge companies and technologies that lead us to energy and food security. Such an investment will revitalize rural America, re-establish our moral leadership on climate security and eliminate our addiction to foreign oil. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#america #build #climate #companies #cutting-edge