Clinton talks about rural drug-use epidemic and rural women’s issues
August 26, 2015 |11:15 PM
ANKENY, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said here today that one issue Iowans have emphasized to her is the epidemic of drug abuse, and she said she would focus on rural social issues if she becomes president.
After Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in his introduction noted the problem of methamphetamine use, Clinton said, “As I’ve traveled around Iowa, I’ve heard story after story about the quiet epidemic that Tom mentioned — roughly 23 million Americans suffer from and need treatment for addiction and substance abuse, including meth and prescription drugs, heroin, and alcohol. “
“In 2013, more Americans died from overdoses than car crashes,” she said. “Problems many people used to associate with big cities are now part of daily life in small towns.”
Referring to the Republican governor of the state, she added that “there are far too few treatment options available, and there are too fewer because of Gov. [Terry] Branstad’s veto,” apparently of a treatment bill.
“Here’s a statistic that stopped me cold when I first heard it: Many American women in rural communities — especially those with the least education and the lowest incomes — are actually living shorter lives than American women used to in the same environments,” Clinton added. “Shorter lives too than women in nearly every other major industrialized country.”
Although Clinton said there is no single explanation, she said rural American women’s lower life expectancy seems to come from “job losses, poverty, high rates of smoking, obesity, and substance abuse.”
“Places where the traditional support systems of family and community that used to hold people up are fraying and failing,” she said. “Women — and men also — who are trying to build a life and a family in such places don’t just face ceilings on their aspirations and opportunities. For many it’s as if the floor has collapsed beneath them.”
“Today happens to be Women’s Equality Day,” she continued. “We have to ask ourselves — or at least I’m asking: How can this be happening in the richest, most powerful nation on earth?”
Clinton said she wants to address the issue with a rural agenda that includes health care and education.
She said she favors President Barack Obama’s proposal for free community college tuition, would double funding for Early Head Start and would improve health care in rural America.
“It’s imperative that we have a comprehensive agenda to revitalize rural America,” Clinton said.
After Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in his introduction noted the problem of methamphetamine use, Clinton said, “As I’ve traveled around Iowa, I’ve heard story after story about the quiet epidemic that Tom mentioned — roughly 23 million Americans suffer from and need treatment for addiction and substance abuse, including meth and prescription drugs, heroin, and alcohol. “
“In 2013, more Americans died from overdoses than car crashes,” she said. “Problems many people used to associate with big cities are now part of daily life in small towns.”
Referring to the Republican governor of the state, she added that “there are far too few treatment options available, and there are too fewer because of Gov. [Terry] Branstad’s veto,” apparently of a treatment bill.
Life expectancy of rural women
“Here’s a statistic that stopped me cold when I first heard it: Many American women in rural communities — especially those with the least education and the lowest incomes — are actually living shorter lives than American women used to in the same environments,” Clinton added. “Shorter lives too than women in nearly every other major industrialized country.”
Although Clinton said there is no single explanation, she said rural American women’s lower life expectancy seems to come from “job losses, poverty, high rates of smoking, obesity, and substance abuse.”
“Places where the traditional support systems of family and community that used to hold people up are fraying and failing,” she said. “Women — and men also — who are trying to build a life and a family in such places don’t just face ceilings on their aspirations and opportunities. For many it’s as if the floor has collapsed beneath them.”
“Today happens to be Women’s Equality Day,” she continued. “We have to ask ourselves — or at least I’m asking: How can this be happening in the richest, most powerful nation on earth?”
Clinton said she wants to address the issue with a rural agenda that includes health care and education.
She said she favors President Barack Obama’s proposal for free community college tuition, would double funding for Early Head Start and would improve health care in rural America.
“It’s imperative that we have a comprehensive agenda to revitalize rural America,” Clinton said.
