[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 7, 2001)] [House] [Page H204] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RURAL HEALTH CARE COALITION (Mr. MORAN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre) in highlighting the importance of a caucus here in this Congress, the Rural Health Care Coalition. It is a group of us, 160 strong, both Republicans and Democrats, who have come together to advance the cause on behalf of rural America and to make certain that our constituents, our citizens across this country, can access health care, regardless of where they live. I would encourage my colleagues, the new Members of Congress and those who have not considered belonging to our organization, to do so, for the purpose of educating ourselves, advocating our positions with other Members of Congress and leveraging our votes. We would encourage our urban colleagues to join us as well, because many of them have very similar issues, as our constituents try to obtain the health care necessary. I commend the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle) and thank him for his leadership of this organization over the last 2 years and look forward to working with my colleague from North Carolina for the next two. ____________________