On Tuesday, August 6, 2013, the House GOP Policy Committee held a roundtable discussion on rural poverty at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. In attendance was Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana), Rep. Tom Sankey (R-Clearfield), and Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion).
The House members heard from community leaders and experts on issues around rural poverty, specifically regarding transportation and housing needs. The meeting agenda is available online here.
The Center for Rural PA, a legislative agency of the General Assembly, began the meeting with a presentation on demographic trends for rural populations and economies in Pennsylvania. They provided data on how rural communities in our state have been steadily losing population since the mid 1990s while the share of older residents (over 55 years old) grew and minors decreased (under 18 years old). One of the economic trends they discussed was a 10% increase in the number of eligible students for free or reduced lunches in rural Pennsylvania from 2003-2012. Now the number stands at just over 40% of rural students qualifying for free or reduced lunches. They also noted that of the 271 post secondary educational institution, only 56 are located in rural areas, with the rest located in urban communities.
This meeting is only the first of several public discussions on poverty in Pennsylvania by the House GOP Policy Committee. As we posted last month, the committee has launched an agenda to address poverty in Pennsylvania call “Empowering Opportunities: Gateways Out of Poverty.”