| SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 -- National Grange President Ed Luttrell responded on Friday to President Barack Obama's Thursday night address to the Joint Session of Congress with hesitant appreciation.
"There is not a single Grange member who has not been negatively impacted in some way by the staggering and sustained unemployment rate in this country, so I am glad that President Obama has made jobs his number one priority," Luttrell said. "I am however, a bit concerned about paying for a job stimulus initiative by telling Congress they have to find a way to pay for it, in addition to passing the deficit reduction package."
Luttrell said the Grange members around the country expect legislators to face financial decisions as they do in their homes.
"Our members have to sit down each week and balance their checkbooks and they expect Congress and this administration to do the same, not keep running up the charge card," Luttrell said.
The National Grange, established in 1867, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization for rural America and agriculture. The Grange has more than 200,000 members across the United States and establishes policy each November, advanced from local and state Granges, at its annual convention. This year, the convention will be held Nov. 8 to 11 in Tulsa, Okla.
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