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Today, the Blue Dog Coalition released A Strong Rural America, an agenda that outlines the path to prosperity and restoring the American Dream in rural communities across the country.

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement in response the release of Rep. Kevin Brady's (R-TX) listening session framework, "Tax Reform 2.0":

Yesterday, several members of the Blue Dog Special Task Force on Rural America were named as conferees for the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee, where Republican and Democratic members will come together in an effort to develop a bipartisan Farm Bill.

Yesterday, the Blue Dog Coalition's Special Task Force on Rural America held its third panel discussion on rural issues.

The Democratic Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed H.R. 6165, the Combating Opioid Misuse Before Addiction for our Troops (COMBAT) Act. This bipartisan bill prevents the overprescription of opioids to active duty servicemembers, their families, and retirees who use TRICARE by requiring the Department of Defense to implement a seven day first-fill limit for opioid prescriptions.

Today, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook report. According to the CBO, federal debt held by the public will approach 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) within the next 10 years and 152 percent of GDP by 2048—far surpassing any amount of debt our country has ever held.

Yesterday, the Blue Dog Coalition's Special Task Force on Rural America held its second panel discussion on rural issues. The Task Force met with representatives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Midco, and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC of America) to discuss ways we can strengthen our nation's rural economy.

The Democratic Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed H.R. 4362, Fairness for Rural Veterans Act, a bill that makes it easier for rural communities to compete for federal funding to build new state veterans nursing homes. The bill was introduced by Rep. Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ), chairman of the Blue Dog Special Task Force on Rural America.