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.

You know rural Americans are a special people. Their labor puts food on our table and fuel in our gas tanks. Their service in our military sets a powerful example of leadership honor and sacrifice. Their spirit of community inspires us all.

Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things - the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life and the exhilarating experience of open space.

Cities all over the world are getting bigger as more and more people move from rural to urban sites but that has created enormous problems with respect to environmental pollution and the general quality of life.

I belong to the generation of workers who born in the villages and hamlets of rural Poland had the opportunity to acquire education and find employment in industry becoming in the course conscious of their rights and importance in society.

I could be on 52nd and Third in Manhattan up and ask a strange for directions and they will help you that's a rural heart. Your car breaks down in the middle of Iowa or somewhere or Tennessee where I'm from people want to help each other. Given each opportunity you see how people come together.

As Members of Congress we can now engage with our constituents via online innovations like the Huffington Post while a small business in rural Oregon can use the Internet to find customers around the world.