Testimony and prepared statements presented at a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Rural Economy and Family Farming focused on the concerns of rural small business. Witnesses included Senators from Montana, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, and nine representatives of business, state government, federal agencies, education, and regional development agencies. Witnesses presented economic facts which described rural America as accounting for 25% of the nation's population, only 20% of United States personal income, more than 40% of the country's elderly, 38% of the nation's poor, 67% of all substandard housing, and unemployment exceeding twice the national average. Witnesses suggested that to revitalize rural America, new jobs in both traditional and new industries are needed. Others indicated that the rural economy no longer means isolated and sparsely populated farm communities, but a collection of many diverse economies, depending not only on traditional farming, fishing, timber, and mining industries, but also new industries like manufacturing, services, and tourism. (NEC)