Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, as rice farmers in Arkansas' first district work tirelessly to harvest their rice crop, it is timely that September marks National Rice Month. National Rice Month is a time to recognize the important contributions of the 125,000 Americans who work in the U.S. rice industry.

In Arkansas, the rice industry is a major economic driver. In fact, Arkansas' first congressional district produces half of the rice consumed in the United States, making us the top rice producing district. Rice farmers contribute $2.3 billion to the state's economic output and support almost 15,000 jobs in the Natural State.

Rice isn't just good for the economy, it is also good for you. This nutrient-rich grain provides more than 15 vitamins and minerals and beneficial antioxidants. It is a good source of protein, fiber, and energy. Rice farmers take great pride in knowing they supply the United States and over 120 other countries with such a nutritious food.

While September marks National Rice Month, in Arkansas we see the value of the rice industry throughout the year. I urge my colleagues the next time they enjoy risotto, a rice crispy treat, or gumbo to think about the hardworking men and women in our rice industry who make that meal a reality.

One of those hardworking people is Carl Brothers, who recently retired from Riceland Foods after 53 years working for the company. It is timely that I take a moment during National Rice Month to recognize Mr. Brothers for his 53 years of work in the rice industry and wish him the best in his retirement. Mr. Brothers started at Riceland as a sortex operator and eventually became the vice president and chief operating officer. Mr. Brothers' career has led him to be an expert in trade expansion efforts and a valuable resource to our state and the U.S. rice industry. He has served in various rice leadership positions and been a trusted advisor to those of us in Washington for many years. While his retirement concludes his career at Riceland Foods, the legacy he leaves has positively affected the rice industry for many years to come.

I thank Mr. Carl Brothers for his service to the rice industry.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th wedding anniversary of David and Carol Witherington. When they met, Chicagoan Carol Leonard was 17. Tennessean David Witherington was on leave, and visiting Carol's hometown of Melrose Park, Illinois. Following David's honorable discharge, they eloped and married on September 7, 1968, in Clinton, Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Witherington worked in the plastics industry, and their careers took them across the United States, along the way adopting two sons. In 1985 the family sold their house, moved to Colorado, and started their own successful plastics company--the BroCom Corporation. Today, the Witheringtons live in beautiful Mountain Home, Arkansas, and are celebrating 50 years of marriage.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas, the distinguished chair, for her leadership.

The amendment I am offering will support explosive ordnance disposal equipment upgrades and technology enhancements.

When the Department of Defense canceled the EOD/Low Intensity Conflict Program, which formerly developed and delivered capabilities commonly required by each services' EOD tactical units, it was done without transferring this program and the oversight responsibility on EOD research, development, and acquisition to that of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

It is my understanding that DOD's Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office will now absorb this specific mission set within their Improvised Device Defeat and Explosives Countermeasures program. This program is unique in that it supports the United States Government's Interagency Deputies' Technical Support Working Group to combat terrorism by using a whole-government approach. Specifically, the program leverages the intelligence community, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and State, as well as State, local, and Tribal levels of government.

There are about 33,000 annual call-outs, approximately 4,500 of which are on DOD military munitions. The Improvised Device Defeat and Explosives Countermeasures program develops or improves operational capabilities to neutralize, render safe, and contain blast fragmentation during these emergency response operations and terrorist incidents involving use of IEDs in the homeland. Furthermore, it produces dual-use capabilities on enhancing lifesaving technologies for military tactical EOD units and those of public safety bomb squads organized at the State, local, and Tribal levels of government.

Therefore, I encourage the Director of the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office to appropriately prioritize funding toward delivery of these advanced dual-use capabilities in the IED countermeasures program used by military tactical EOD units and public safety bomb squads.

In closing, this program is critical to the safety and security of America's

citizens. Military tactical EOD units and public safety bomb squads deserve the best tools and equipment we can provide so they are able to neutralize, disable, dismantle, render safe, and exploit improvised explosive devices and explosive ordnance both at home and abroad. My amendment will ensure they receive the equipment upgrades and technology enhancements they need.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday my flight was diverted to Richmond due to inclement weather surrounding the capital, causing me to miss evening votes. Had I been able to, I would have voted for bills that passed the House last evening on suspension of the rules.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I had an urgent family commitment that caused me to miss my normal flight, and therefore evening votes. I, like the rest of this body, am fully committed to fighting the opioid epidemic. Had I been able to vote, I would have joined my colleagues in supporting the opioid combatting legislation that passed the House yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak this evening about the positive effect the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has had back in Arkansas' First District. Major industries, businesses, and families are already experiencing financial relief and enjoy having a few more dollars in their pockets.

Agriculture is the number one industry in my district and in the State, adding around $16 billion to the Arkansas economy each year. Considering this, it was imperative that we pass a tax reform package that brings relief to farmers and ensures the next generation will be able to transition into the industry. The old adage that farmers die land rich but cash poor presented a serious problem under the previous estate tax exemption.

Farming families often struggled to pass the business from one generation to the next. However, by doubling the estate tax exemption in H.R. 1, we are able to bring much-needed support to farming families as they cope with the loss of a loved one and a new generation takes over the farm.

Businesses in my district have also experienced savings from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that they passed along to their customers and employees. Because of the lowered corporate tax rate, Entergy Arkansas, which provides electricity to all of the counties in my district, reduced rates for residential and business customers.

Ryder truck rental, which has locations in Jonesboro and Stuttgart, provided a one-time bonus to eligible employees. In February, Walmart, which has several locations throughout the State, increased the starting wage rate for all employees to $11 an hour, expanded maternity and parental leave benefits, and provided a one-time cash bonus to eligible employees of up to $1,000.

Most important are the savings Arkansas families will see from taking home more of their hard-earned paychecks. A middle-income family of four in Arkansas will see a tax cut of $1,900. That is almost $2,000 extra to spend at businesses throughout the State. I am proud to go home to my district and tell my constituents that I voted ``yes'' on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because Arkansas farmers, businesses, and families are already benefiting from this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Johnson for his work on this amendment.

This amendment would require the Secretary to consider measures already in place or proposed to mitigate species or habitat loss when determining whether Federal action is likely to jeopardize existing work taking place. This would help address agriculture's ongoing concerns with the Endangered Species Act by recognizing the habitat protections and benefits already being provided through USDA conservation program practices that farmers and ranchers implement on their land.

Farmers are our best stewards of the land and environment, and I applaud efforts that take into account the good work the ag industry is already doing to prevent habitat and species loss. I urge my colleagues to prevent duplicative measures that may compromise conservation progress by voting in support of the Johnson amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise this morning to support the Hollingsworth amendment, which would allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue depredation permits to livestock farmers authorizing the taking of black vultures during calving season.

Currently, the black vulture is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. I don't know why they are all migrating to my district, and that is where they all live and they are not leaving.

The current permit process doesn't provide farmers the flexibility they need to adequately protect calves from black vulture attacks. By allowing the Secretary of the Interior to work with Fish and Wildlife to issue State or regionwide depredation orders, we will provide farmers with the ability to protect their livelihood.

This isn't just about giving farmers flexibility; it is also about being humane. If you have ever seen a black vulture attack calves, that is not something you want to see more than once.

It is time we give our cattle farmers the authority to legally handle this dire situation.

I want to point out that the ranking member's comments are very relevant to me, as well, with cormorants. We have a big problem with cormorants, as well, in my district. So, certainly, we need to be taking these issues into consideration.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to support H.R. 2 and the accompanying manager's amendment.

I appreciate the chairman's leadership on this effort, not only in the underlying bill but the amendment to improve upon it. I thank the gentleman for including my food access liaison provision in the amendment.

Just briefly: This individual will be tasked with coordinating USDA programs aimed at improving Americans' access to quality food and providing technical assistance to community leaders who are working to improve the lives of those living in food deserts. This is a small measure of progress that we can all be proud of and continue our work to ensure folks have access to healthy and nutritious foods.

However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that access to healthy and nutritious food relies on the food security system, the strong food security system provided by this farm bill. And I thank the chairman for his leadership in that regard.

As we will soon vote on amendments, I urge my colleagues to remember the importance of a strong food security system for all of our commodities, whether that be under the ARC program or the PLC program for crops such as rice, soybeans, and corn or the current sugar program. If we pick apart our commodity programs one by one, we will create giant holes in our Nation's food security system. This compromises our national security and hinders our ability to provide healthy, nutritious food, not just to rural communities that produce the food but to urban areas and, in fact, the entire Nation and beyond.

Mr. Chair, again, I want to thank the chairman for his diligence and leadership on this issue, and not only in regard to the commodity title but certainly the nutrition title, to our vice chairman and chairman of the Nutrition Subcommittee, G.T. Thompson, for his diligence as well. And I appreciate the work on the part of our Agriculture Committee.

Mr. Chairman, where do I begin? I guess it was JFK who said the farmer is the only businessman who--I think he said it this way--who buys retail, sells wholesale, and pays freight both ways.

So we are comparing apples and oranges here with a business that is, say, I don't know, an accountant maybe--I don't know, Mr. Chairman--and a farmer. Farming is inherently risky, so that is not even debatable.

The issue we have here, though, is is it worth it to us as a nation to make an investment in our national security?

Our ability to feed ourselves is absolutely crucial to our national security, number one. Number two, we support our farmers at a fraction of what the rest of the world does, and so we get much better value, much better return on investment.

I think the disposable income of an average American is somewhere in the 12 percent range, what we spend on food; and if you think about and compare it to, say, in Europe where they are upwards of 20 percent and Japan in the 25 percent range of their disposable income, we get a much better return, much, much better value to the taxpayer.

Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for his leadership on this issue.

Let me start by saying that it is not very often that we talk about agriculture in the context of national security. I believe it is next week we are going to be taking up the NDAA reauthorization. While that is very important to our national security, I think it is equally important to consider how vital our agriculture producers are to our national security. A country that can't feed itself is a country that is not secure. It is inviting danger and peril. All you have to do is look around the globe and see those nations that are in that situation. Most notably in our hemisphere, Venezuela can't feed themselves. You can see the turmoil that has ensued as a result.

But there are other countries around the world. One of the big ones that we don't talk about very often and, quite frankly, we should, and that is China can't feed themselves. They have 1.4 billion people.

What we should be doing is taking every effort during this debate to thank farmers across the country for what they do and for the security they provide to this Nation, recognizing that, without them, the nutrition programs that we are fighting over couldn't exist.

Let's get a little different perspective, if we can, and recognize that, first and foremost, we have got to have the food produced, not only to provide a level of security in this Nation, but to be able to feed the 300 million-plus that call this country home.

Second, we have to be about trying to secure that food source and making sure that farmers are in a competitive marketplace that gives them equal opportunities to sell their commodities.

Certainly, the nutrition part of this is paramount. But I think most Americans across the country--and I think

there are polls that bear this out--some 75 percent of Americans say, yes, we probably should encourage folks to work and/or get educated as a component of receiving nutrition benefits. That is all we are saying. We are not trying to compromise anyone's nutrition or threaten a single calorie.

One thing I think we need to clarify, too, is the Agriculture Committee has no jurisdiction over school nutrition programs.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove myself as a cosponsor from H. Res. 774.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, 21 students from Valley View High School in my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas will arrive in our Nation's Capital to compete in the We the People National Competition. For the better part of the past school year, these impressive students have given up their free time to study our Nation's constitutional democracy and thoroughly examine the history and principles of the Republic.

This weekend, they will put their knowledge to the ultimate test here in Washington. They will compete in a simulated Congressional hearing by evaluating and defending positions on historical and contemporary constitutional issues. Our government functions at its best when citizens engage in the political and policy making process, and I'm proud that these students are already preparing themselves for that process through their education.

Valley View has a history of excellence in We the People. Mrs. Traci Smith started We the People at Valley View nearly a decade ago, won the Arkansas state competition several times, and brought hundreds of students to the Capital to compete. Today, the program is led by Mr. Jacob Lamberson, who has coached at the national competition several times. Both teachers deserve our gratitude for their exceptional work preparing the rising generation for civic engagement and leadership.

I include in the Record the names of the competing students: Jesse Allison, Walker Bartels, Adrian Brown, Benjamin ``Benji'' Campbell, Aaron Dent, Cooper Fanning, Colin Ford, Simon Gomez, Dylan Johnson, Ryan Jones, Ilyse Levy, Taylor Martin, Carly Mason, Daniel Miao, Tanner Mote, Weston Myers, Camryn Pierce, Anna Rhodes, Jackson St. Pierre, Johnny Waters, and Kori Wood.

Mr. Speaker, I hope you and the rest of Congress will join me in congratulating these young men and women for their achievements and wish them the best of luck in their future pursuits.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside my friend, Congressman Michael Burgess, to pay tribute to Johnie Mae Sittonen, a World War II veteran and Des Arc, Arkansas native who passed away in January of this year. Throughout her life, Johnie Mae Sittonen served her country, her Arkansas community, and her family selflessly.

Johnie Mae Sittonen was born in Biscoe, Arkansas in 1924. In 1942, she graduated from Des Arc High School as an exemplary student and enrolled at Arkansas State University. As a young woman, Johnie Mae was one of the great Americans who volunteered to serve our nation. She joined the U.S. Navy in 1944, at the height of World War II. During her service, she met and married Paul Sittonen. After several years in Massachusetts, she and her husband Paul returned to Des Arc in 1959 to raise their five children and run a family farm.

Johnie Mae Sittonen spent many years serving her Arkansas community. For more than 20 years, she worked in the Des Arc Schools as the cafeteria supervisor before retiring in 1986. A committed member of the First United Methodist Church in Des Arc, she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, and served as an active member of United Methodist Women. She was a lifelong Democrat, and served as both the Chair of the Prairie County Democratic Women's Group and as an active member of the Retired Teachers Association.

Johnie Mae Sittonen's hard work for those in her community did not go unnoticed. She was honored as the Outstanding Community Citizen in 1972 and the Des Arc High School Citizen of the Year in 1983, and later received Baptist Health's Amazing Spirit Award in 2006.

A member of the ``Greatest Generation,'' Johnie Mae Sittonen is an example of American excellence, servant-hearted kindness, and commitment to service. She will be deeply missed, not only by her family and loved ones, but also by the northeast Arkansas community she served throughout her life.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Pennsylvania for doing such a great job on this. I know he has worked really, really hard on it.

We have talked about the number of committee hearings that have been dedicated to just nutrition. That is because the nutrition title of the farm bill accounts for about 80 percent of the total authorization. So it is really important that we get it right.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express support for the Agriculture and Nutrition Act, specifically, the improvements that we are making here in the critical nutrition title under the leadership of my friend Mr. Thompson, who has done a fantastic job.

Currently, there is a loophole related to heating and cooling allowances that is often used to artificially increase SNAP benefits. States are given the flexibility under the previous iteration of the SNAP program to use the standard utility allowances for heating and cooling to ease SNAP administration.

Households automatically qualify for the SUA if they receive Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program, it is called the LIHEAP program, payments, if they receive payments from that program. States, in order to increase SNAP benefits, provide LIHEAP payments of just greater than a $20 minimum threshold, allowing households to qualify for the SUA, thus increasing the SNAP benefits the household receives, even though the household may not have actual heating and cooling expenses.

Our bill requires demonstrated heating or cooling expenses in order to receive a standard allowance for such expenses. We basically removed the automatic availability of the SUA for heating and cooling and ask that households demonstrate actual utility costs to receive the State- determined SUA.

Note that we exempt the elderly from that requirement of documentation, so we will make sure that people understand that they are not being adversely impacted.

My home State of Arkansas is already demonstrating how to implement this practice. In our State, we currently require folks who want to be a part of this program--and, by extension, eligible for SNAP--to demonstrate that they, in fact, have utility bill expenses.

This reform will take what my State is doing and implement it across the entire Nation and ensure that SNAP's initial purpose of helping those who need this program the most is being achieved.

Much of the frustration of my constituents, and many folks across the country, has been about the explosion of enrollees in programs who, quite frankly, don't need the benefits in the first place and are deemed eligible through an administrative shortcut.

It is my hope that more States will see this the same way that my home State of Arkansas does and realize that Federal resources are not infinite and being responsible stewards of this program serves those who need the serving the most. If we enact this reform, they will always be taken care of.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman again for his steadfast leadership and his diligence in all of the hearings that we have had over the last 4 years.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time to me.

Mr. Chairman, this bill is one of several we passed in the House that aims to combat the horrific and disgusting act of sex trafficking of minors on our borders.

Today, I want to share two stories of Ashton Talley and Arissa Farmer, both from my district, the First District of Arkansas, who were taken for the purpose of being trafficked, but, thankfully, were rescued before being lost in this abominable trade.

These young women were sought online by men preying on thousands of underage minors. Their stories, sadly, mirror one another and those of countless other minors across America.

Both were courted online by older men and believed they were engaging in harmless friendships. In both instances, these men traveled to my district from other States to take Ashton and Arissa to Washington State and Nebraska, respectively, for their horrific purposes.

It is believed that, for one of the victims, her eventual destination was to be the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, which reportedly draws an increase in trafficking activity for big events like that. In the other case, the victim was one of over 8,000 minors sought online by her predator.

Mr. Chairman, these girls are not unlike our own children. They are kids that we all see in our schools, our churches, and our neighborhoods. We must take the necessary steps like H.R. 1865 to protect America's children from these repugnant individuals.

This bill will not be the end-all for stamping out this unfortunate segment of society. We must all recognize this despicable act for what it is and work together to protect our youth by enacting responsible policy and becoming educated in the tactics used by predators to groom and lure our children.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I remain committed to fighting the ongoing practice of sex trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Lonnie Richardson of Mountain View, Arkansas, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday on September 12th.

Lonnie was born in 1917, in the Signal Hill community of Mountain View. In 1942, he answered the call of duty and was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served for four years during and after World War II, rising to the rank of corporal. After the war, Lonnie returned home to the Ozarks. He settled down, raised a family, and tended to the family farm.

Lonnie is truly a member of the greatest generation. We are all measured relative to people like Lonnie, who preserved global freedom, built our communities, and continue to shape America today. I hope you and Congress will join me in wishing Lonnie Richardson a happy 100th birthday.