The National Association of Counties

Congressional Testimony

On the National Rural Development Partnership (NRDP)

Presented by Colleen Landkamer, Commissioner, Blue Earth County, MN and Chair, NACo Rural Action Caucus

Subcommittee on Forestry, Conservation, and Rural Revitalization

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry

March 8, 2000

Washington, D.C.

Senator Craig and distinguished members of the committee, my name is Colleen Landkamer and I am the chair of the Blue Earth, MN Board of Commissioners and also Chair of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Rural Action Caucus. It is an honor to testify before your committee today.

As an elected county official from Blue Earth County, I have served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Rural Partners, a council of the National Rural Development Partnership (NRDP). As an organization, Minnesota Rural Partners (MRP) do not distribute monetary resources, and have no programs to administer. Rather, through an information based, "learning while doing" approach, MRP addresses complex rural problems from a Minnesota, not a Washington, D.C. perspective. They do this in an efficient manner by:

· Building critical inter- and intra-governmental relationships

· Promoting strategic development

· Making better use of existing resources

· Intervening in a problem-solving role

· Making a difference in the quality of life in rural America

· Representing a new model of governance

The Minnesota Rural Partners were particularly helpful in my county on a number of different issues. In particular, the MRP and their Disaster Recovery Task Force have been extremely helpful to the citizens in Blue Earth County through disaster mitigation following severe storms that produce floods and tornadoes. MRP coordinates their recovery activities with federal agencies to ameliorate conditions in counties following these severe storms. With the MRP on the forefront of disaster mitigation, the citizens throughout Minnesota and my county have all benefited from their services.

MRP has also provided beneficial information and 'best practices' examples that have helped all of the counties in Minnesota on issues ranging from technology to agri-forestry. There are thirty-five other NRDP state councils throughout the country doing similar work on a daily basis.

Senator, I am also integrally involved with the National Association of Counties (NACo). NACo is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. With its headquarters on Capitol Hill, NACo is a full-service organization that provides an extensive line of services including legislative, research, and technical as well as public affairs assistance to its nearly 2000 member counties. NACo has many strategic legislative partnerships with the National Rural Development Partnership (NRDP), the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI), the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), National Governors Association (NGA), the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), and the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL).

At NACo, I chair the Rural Action Caucus that was recently created to represent America's 2,350 rural counties on Capitol Hill. Senator Craig, you recently spoke at the NACo Legislative Conference emphasizing the need to "Seize the Initiative" on a number of critical issues facing counties, particularly your bill, S. 1608. On behalf of our rural forest counties throughout the States, I want to thank you and your staff for your hard work to rectify the deteriorating conditions in these counties.

Our Rural Action Caucus membership consists of 1,000 rural county commissioners, and with their help we are mobilizing our grassroots on a variety of issues facing rural America including:

1. Helping to bridge the digital divide;

2. Providing adequate health care services to rural areas

It is essential that our rural partners collaborate on these initiatives. Through future partnerships with our Rural Action Caucus, RUPRI, the NRDP, and rural state councils throughout America we will address and solve these and other pertinent issues facing rural communities throughout the West and across the nation.

I'd like to cite the importance of Undersecretary Jill Long Thompson's role in promoting rural initiatives at USDA. Thank you to all of the Members of the Committee for your leadership for rural America and for having a subcommittee devoted to addressing rural revitalization, and thank you for this opportunity to testify before you today. I would be happy to answer any questions.