Senator Warner sent an email update today on the effort to create jobs and boost local economies, especially in rural Virginia.

Last week, Stanley Furniture announced it will close its factory near Martinsville and relocate more than 560 jobs overseas -- a major blow to the region despite recent job creation announcements by two new employers.

In too many of our rural regions, it seems we take one step forward -- and then two steps back. ...

And, as many of you already know, my interest in shoring-up Virginia's traditional manufacturing towns dates back to my term as Governor, when we frequently worked with our local, regional, public and private sector partners to strengthen and diversify the economies of those regions of Virginia that were built on tobacco, textiles and furniture.

Senator Warner wrote about "some hopeful signs of betters days and new investments to come," such as stimulus funding to help expand high-speed Internet access across the region.

He also discussed two initiatives he has been working on that "should help boost small businesses and investment in Southside and all across the Commonwealth": legislation that would provide encourage banks to extend credit to small businesses, and his "America Recruits Act," which would provide a federal job incentive to encourage employers to bring jobs back to the U.S.

Neither of these initiatives by themselves will create a "silver bullet" solution. Taken together, however, I believe they will help our struggling rural economies diversify and better compete.

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