Rural Development

Working to invest in Ohio’s rural communities.

Having spent my summers growing up in New Philly, Ohio, having traveled throughout Ohio for more than twenty years, and having partnered closely with Governor Ted Strickland whose roots run deep in Southeast Ohio, I believe that rural communities are vital to Ohio’s economy and way of life. Rural Ohioans need and deserve a Senator who will tackle the challenges they are facing head on in economic development, agriculture, education and health.

With the right policies in place, Ohio’s rural communities can thrive and can help solve pressing national problems, like providing a safe and healthy food supply, producing renewable energy to move us toward energy independence, creating vibrant rural communities and jobs, and helping to tackle global warming.

• Lee is committed to working with Ohio’s farmers, small businesses, and rural community leaders to promote a better life in our rural areas by supporting efforts to create jobs and increase investments to expand Ohio’s rural economy and strengthen rural communities and small towns throughout the state.
• Lee knows that agriculture is an essential element of Ohio’s economy contributing $93 billion to the state’s economic growth. In fact, one in seven Ohioans is employed in some way by the agricultural industry from farming to marketing, processing, and retailing.
• While our talented producers have made Ohio a world leader in producing milk, cheese, eggs, and a number of fruits and vegetables, many rural Ohioans have told Lee they are concerned in these times of economic uncertainty about the future of our agricultural industry. That is why he will stand with Ohio’s farmers in the U.S. Senate by opposing efforts to weaken the strong safety net created in the 2008 Farm Bill and strongly supporting investments in our rural communities such as funding for broadband access, water infrastructure, and assistance to entrepreneurs to help start businesses in rural areas.
• Lee is committed to making Ohio the hub of the clean, green energy industry because he firmly believes efforts to expand the use of biofuels and local ownership of renewable energy production will create more job opportunities for skilled workers in rural Ohio.
• Lee believes that Ohio’s abundant coal reserves provide Ohio with an opportunity to be a world leader in cleaner burning coal technologies and strongly supports the cleaner use of coal as part of Ohio’s advanced energy future.