[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 160 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1020-E1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING SEPTEMBER 2022 AS NATIONAL RICE MONTH

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                     HON. ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 4, 2022

  Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Rice 
Month, established by an act of Congress and signed into law by 
President Bush in 1989. Each September during the rice harvest season, 
we celebrate this important industry which is near and dear to me.
  I have the distinct privilege to represent the number one rice-
producing district in the number one producing rice state in the United 
States. Rice farmers in Arkansas contribute $2.3 billion to my home 
state's economic output, supporting nearly 15,000 jobs up and down the 
supply chain.
  As a whole, the rice industry in the United States supports more than 
125,000 jobs and generates $34 billion in economic impact. In fact, 
each rice farmer in the U.S. contributes $1 million to his or her local 
economy.
  To expand on rice's impact beyond the economy, rice is the most 
popular grain globally and the primary dietary staple for more than 
half the world's population. U.S. rice farmers and millers not only 
supply over 80 percent of the rice we consume here at home, but they 
also ship it globally to more than 120 countries.
  Rice farmers are also conservation minded, creating surrogate 
wetlands by flooding their fields during the winter that provide 
habitat to waterfowl and other wildlife.
  While I'm here to celebrate this important crop, I would be remiss to 
not mention that U.S. rice farmers are facing very difficult situations 
this year. In the southern rice-producing states, stagnant prices 
coupled with input costs are financially squeezing those farmers, while 
in California, drought has cut acreage in half. With rampant inflation, 
rice-dependent rural communities across the country are being adversely 
impacted by the ongoing recession within the industry. This situation 
could result in devastating impacts on rice mills, elevators, trucking 
companies, and other businesses dependent on rice production, which 
once lost, will not return, further worsening the economic stability in 
these communities.
  I believe that protecting our domestic rice industry is a priority 
and worthy endeavor, and that rice farmers need assistance to help them 
weather this storm, and I hope we can accomplish that.

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