FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov

Reps. Trone and Miller Reintroduce Building Rural Investments, Development, and Growth for the Economy (BRIDGE) Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman David Trone (D-MD) and Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) reintroduced the Building Rural Investments, Development, and Growth for the Economy (BRIDGE) Act in the House of Representatives for the 117th Congress.

The goal of this bill is to bridge the economic urban-rural divide as America continues to heal from COVID-19. This legislation directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of State to promote the export of goods from rural regions, with a focus on small businesses. It additionally directs them to facilitate foreign investments into our rural communities.

“Rural communities like Western Maryland are chock full of hard workers and great American small businesses. We need to do everything we can to expand the markets for these American-made products,” said Congressman Trone. “This bill takes a major step towards bridging the economic divide in our country and ensuring that all Americans can prosper, no matter where they live.”

“I am proud to reintroduce this crucial legislation for rural America in the House of Representatives today,” said Congresswoman Miller. “The BRIDGE Act will work to close the gap between our rural and urban communities, create more jobs, and increase trade. America’s rural areas have been hit hard by COVID-19 and deserve the same opportunities as major cities to recover. As more Americans are moving out of big cities, this bill goes a long way in ensuring our small towns remain wonderful places to live, work, and raise a family.”

Background:
As our nation continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, our rural communities have been hard hit. Unlike urban areas, rural parts of the country have a harder time attracting business investment and need better access to foreign investment and markets for exports. This bill will help to alleviate this problem as well as strengthen rural economies and create more jobs.

The BRIDGE Act was originally introduced in November 2020 during the 116th Congress.

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