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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, criticized President Joe Biden for failing to focus on rural America’s concerns during his State of the Union address and for pursuing policies that exacerbate the economic struggle these communities face.
In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Boozman said the president’s State of the Union speech highlighted a “major disconnect between the struggles Americans experience every day and the image the president and his team are desperately trying to project.”
“This is most apparent in rural America. The president and his team often boast about record high farm income, but never acknowledge the fact that financial gains family farmers, ranchers and foresters see will soon be reduced by record high production costs,” Boozman said in his remarks. “For many, the increased costs of farming are deterring them from continuing in the industry. The family farm operations that once populated my home state of Arkansas in large numbers will be eroded away if we don’t make rural America and farming more economically sustainable. This is bad news for rural America. In most of our rural communities, agriculture is all that is left.”
Boozman urged the president to abandon his misplaced priorities and focus on an agenda that helps every American regardless of where they live.
“President Biden only mentioned the word ‘rural’ once in his entire State of the Union address. He continued to push his Build Back Better agenda—which favors big city liberals at the expense of rural America—and pledged to resurrect this doomed package. My advice to President Biden: It’s time to stop pushing that boulder up the hill. Instead, make good on your pledge to unite the fractured country. That starts by abandoning these misplaced priorities and focusing on the needs of all Americans,” Boozman said in closing.