11-year-olds compete in a tractor pull contest at Minnesota Farmfest in Redwood County, Minnesota Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Picture by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
The U.S. Home took all of October off. In truth, the GOP-led chamber has solely labored 14 days since July 25. As Congress sat idle, hardworking People confronted rising well being care prices, farmers battled harmful market instability, and thousands and thousands anxious over dropping essential meals help.
It’s time for Congress to indicate up for the individuals it serves — to decrease prices, elevate wages, and defend the liberty to make decisions about our personal lives. Because the communications and coverage director for the Rural Democracy Initiative, I labored with 40 native, state, and nationwide organizations — together with the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Challenge and CURE — to create the Rural Coverage Motion Report, which provides a roadmap of common insurance policies lawmakers may implement at present.
Listed here are 5 priorities to assist households, small companies and rural communities thrive.
1. Repair well being care.
To start out, lawmakers ought to reverse the Medicaid cuts and renew the Reasonably priced Care Act tax credit that they allowed to run out to go tax breaks for billionaires.
Greater than undoing the injury Congress did this yr, we want them to go additional: decrease prescription costs, help rural hospitals, and guarantee dependable care near residence. Entry to life-saving companies shouldn’t rely in your ZIP code or your revenue.
2. Stand with farmers, not simply companies.
For farmers, rising well being care prices are simply a part of the rising challenges.
“Our members are feeling the ache of a chaotic commerce coverage, large cuts to USDA applications that serve all farmers and rural communities, and the ever-growing risk from monopolies that manipulate the agriculture market,” stated Aaron Lehman of the Iowa Farmers Union, a contributor to the report.
With the Farm Invoice years overdue, it appears Congress solely makes time to fund applications for the largest agribusinesses. However Congress may assist develop native markets by investing in native meals programs, reinstating the Native Meals Buy Help program that helped colleges purchase contemporary meals from native farms, and serving to farmers defend soil and water. They need to retool crop insurance coverage and credit score applications so that they work for smaller, extra various farms.
Farmers watched as new tariffs harm the U.S. soybean market, and boosted gross sales for Argentina. To prime it off, the Trump administration promised Argentina a further $20 billion bailout reward. Congress should rein in our commerce coverage and prioritize unbiased producers, small-town companies, and employees.
3. Strengthen public colleges.
Rural colleges are the guts of their communities, making ready college students with the talents to compete. However the federal authorities diverted billions from public colleges to non-public colleges with a voucher tax credit score that would value taxpayers as much as $51 billion a yr — greater than the federal authorities spends on all public Ok–12 training.
Lawmakers ought to cease the voucher applications and as an alternative guarantee college students have correctly funded colleges with speech and studying companies and help for teenagers with disabilities.
4. Empower employees
Rural employees usually earn much less, have fewer advantages, and face increased harm charges. When employees are revered and pretty paid, they spend regionally and maintain principal streets alive. However the Trump administration has tried to remove dozens of employee security guidelines, rescinded an vital time beyond regulation rule, and ordered immigration raids at work websites throughout the nation.
Congress ought to defend the correct to arrange, guarantee protected work websites, and assure paid household and medical depart.
5. Make necessities inexpensive
Everybody ought to have the ability to afford groceries, medication and power payments — however costs maintain climbing. Congress should work to decrease costs and allow small companies to be aggressive so individuals have actual decisions.
Congress must also restore meals help, lower prices for youngster care, housing, and power, and develop broadband entry.
Congress must work for us, not for the particular pursuits of massive companies and the extremely rich.
Rural communities have been missed — or actively harmed — by federal coverage. The Rural Coverage Motion Report exhibits a greater path: a sensible plan with instance laws to enhance healthcare, help farmers, strengthen public colleges, stand with employees and decrease prices.
Learn extra at RuralPolicyAction.Us.