The Congressional Farmer Cooperative Caucus is a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers from rural areas.  Their common goal is establishing a forum for all Members of Congress interested in working to protect and enhance the ability of individual farmers to join together in cooperative selling efforts to improve their own and their community’s economic well being.

“My involvement with the newly-formed Congressional Farmer Cooperative Caucus is critical as I join other interested parties from the public and private sectors in Illinois who work to safeguard our family farms, promote U.S. grown commodities and create economic growth in rural areas,” explained Johnson.  “Farmer cooperatives provide over 300,000 needed jobs, nationwide with a payroll in excess of $8 billion – and many of these jobs are in rural communities.  Supporting farmer cooperatives is a way to help producers help themselves and that is crucial to solving the problems in the ag economy.”

The Rural Health Care Coalition (RHCC) has successfully advocated rural health care issues for several years.  During the last Congress, the Coalition is credited with increasing appropriations funding for various rural health programs, improving access to physicians in rural America and providing additional improvements to rural health programs.  This bipartisan coalition intends to continue providing assistance for vulnerable rural health care systems and beneficiaries nationwide.

“The Rural Health Care Caucus is an established group in which I participated last term and I believe it is an excellent means of bringing to the attention of Congress, the unique challenges patients face trying to get adequate health care in rural areas,” said Johnson.  “Illinois’ 15th District is home to numerous rural hospitals and health-care clinics and they provide necessary and often life-saving services to local residents.  With my involvement on the RHCC, I intend to create ideas for strengthening and improving health care delivery across rural America.”