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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.

Today, the chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition's Special Task Force on Rural America, Rep. Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ), released the following statement in response to the failure of H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, to pass the House:

The fiscally-responsible Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed H.R. 5008, Presidential Inaugural Committee Oversight Act, which would increase transparency and accountability around the fundraising and spending of Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) money. The bill was introduced by Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR), co-chair of the Blue Dog Task Force on Government Reform and Accountability.

This week, the Blue Dog Coalition's Special Task Force on Rural America held its first panel discussion on rural issues. The Task Force met with representatives of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to discuss ways we can better support our nation's rural veterans.

Yesterday, the Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy announced the 2017 Bipartisan Index Rankings for members of Congress. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), a founding member of the Blue Dog Coalition, ranked in the top spot on the 2017 Bipartisan Index out of all members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) was the highest-ranked House Democratic freshman. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Blue Dog Co-Chair Rep.

The Democratic Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed H.R. 5259, Stemming the Tide of Rural Economic Stress and Suicide (STRESS) Act, which makes mental health treatment more available for farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers. Due to the nature of their work and the lack of mental health treatment available, these individuals suffer from higher rates of depression and suicide.

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 to thank Tuesday Group Co-Chair, Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), for his service to the nation following his announcement that he would resign from the United States Congress in May: