Texas Democrats understand the obstacles faced in rural Texas and we are committed to providing our rural communities with the tools necessary to maintain their quality of life and create enhanced opportunities for future generations of rural Texans. All areas of Texas need access to natural and economic resources to grow and thrive, yet rural communities’ resources are under increased pressure from forces beyond their control. We support rural communities in their efforts to protect the resources necessary for their economic livelihood.

We believe it is essential that Texas meet the water needs of our population, communities and industries with an absolute minimum of environmental disruption. We support the enhancement of water conservation programs including programs for wetlands, ground water recharge, desalination, and storm water runoff and storage.

Texans need to breathe clean air. We oppose artificial attempts to cure pollution with a pencil by restructuring EPA regions to pull rural air quality points into more urban areas. These actions do nothing to improve the environment but they do deprive rural areas of economic opportunity.

We believe access to affordable quality health care is particularly important in rural areas. We support incentives to recruit and retain physicians and other health care providers in rural areas, including grants and zero interest loans for public hospitals; programs that bring enhanced medical technology to rural areas; equalizing Medicare reimbursements to rural hospitals; improved emergency care systems; enhanced medical transport systems; and better utilizing nurse practitioners and physician assistants in underserved areas.

We believe access to the most up to date technology is essential to the economic well being of all areas of Texas. We support assistance programs designed to deliver technological resources to our less populated regions.

We believe Texas agriculture must maintain a position of world leadership that has been tainted for the last 18 years by a Texas Department of Agriculture that has failed to support the family farmers and ranchers who are the backbone of the industry.

We support:

• new TDA leadership to devise effective global marketing programs to assist our producers sell their products, including training in the use of new technology and the internet;
• offering Euro-gap certification to all Texas producers at a reduced rate;
• working with Mexican officials to make NAFTA works for, and not against, Texas agriculture;
• legislation to improve weights and measures certification of gas pumps and market scales;
• reforms policy to change policy that unduly favors agribusiness and restricts farmers both locally and globally to using only genetically modified seed;
• USDA efforts to toughen meat industry antitrust rules to protect cattle raisers and producers from unfair and deceptive practices by a handful of giant corporate meatpackers that dominate the market;
• federal farm legislation that establishes minimum price support levels and economic protections for FAMILY farms;
• preserving proper use of agricultural property tax exemptions and restructuring the current land appraisal system to insure a fair property tax system for all Texans; and
• the full cooperation by Texas state officials and agencies, including the Texas Department of Agriculture, with the appropriate federal authorities in foreign activities.