[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. RICKETTS:
  S. 4560. A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on 
an annual basis, an assessment of United States dependency on the 
exportation of agricultural commodities to adversarial countries, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.
  Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I am proud to represent the great State 
of Nebraska. Agriculture is our No. 1 industry in Nebraska. I am also 
proud to represent our farmers and ranchers, who are the best in the 
world. Agriculture is the heart and soul of what we do in the State of 
Nebraska. We produce the finest products and the safest food. We feed 
and fuel our great Nation.
  Now, it is no secret that our farmers and ranchers have had some 
challenges. We have seen low commodity prices and high input costs. We 
have also seen a drought in my State as well as wildfires that are the 
worst in our State's history--burning over 1 million acres. But our 
farmers and ranchers, they are tough and resilient. They find ways to 
come together and get through the tough times, and they contribute to 
their communities. Despite all of this, they continue to invest to make 
sure that we have a strong agricultural sector in Nebraska. This is 
also important for our country, as food security is national security.
  Last week, the Senate passed my resolution to proclaim May as Beef 
Month throughout the entire country. Again, this is our leading 
industry in Nebraska: the beef industry. We are the leading State for 
exporting beef--$1.7 billion worth. We are a leader in every category 
of beef production. In fact, we have over 6 million head of cattle, and 
the 3 highest beef-producing counties in the country are in Nebraska. 
We are very proud of our beef industry, and, of course, it is the best 
tasting beef in the entire world--even if the Presiding Officer doesn't 
agree with that right now, being from Montana. So we are very, very 
proud of that.
  May is also Renewable Fuels Month. Again, Nebraska is a leader in 
renewable fuels with 2.2 billion gallons. Not only is this important 
for creating jobs in our small towns and rural communities, but this is 
one of the ways that consumers can save money at the pump. The last 
time I filled up on E10--a 10-percent blend of ethanol--I saved 55 
cents a gallon at my local Hy-Vee. It is also a great way to be able to 
help clean up the environment.
  Of course, it is great for our farmers and ranchers. It is also great 
for our country. There are estimates that our renewable fuels industry 
that is so great for our corn farmers and soybean farmers also 
displaces about 640 million barrels of foreign oil. That means we are 
less dependent on foreign sources of energy. This is, again, a great 
way for consumers to save money but also for us to strengthen our 
energy independence--``America First'' energy independence. So our 
homegrown solution is biofuels.
  At the summit last week, when President Trump was in Beijing, we 
heard good news with regard to potential initial purchases of American 
agricultural products. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said 
there will be ``double-digit billions'' of U.S. agricultural products 
in 2026, 2027, and 2028--maybe $17 billion in each of those years. That 
is on top of the 25 million metric tons of soybeans that communist 
China had agreed to buy already, last year in October. That certainly 
is good news for our farmers.
  What we need is to make sure that we hold communist China accountable 
for those purchases. We recall that in the first Trump administration, 
they signed the phase 1 trade deal with communist China, but as soon as 
President Trump was out of office, China reneged on that deal. We have 
seen them capriciously turn away the cargo ships of our corn. They have 
delisted our beef processors.
  Communist China, at the end of the day, is a bad trading partner. We 
need to make sure we hold them accountable for the commitments they 
make, and I expect this administration will do just that. They have a 
track record of doing it.
  In addition, we need to look at diversifying our export markets. That 
is why I am introducing the MARKET Act. The MARKET Act would instruct 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to 
look at ways we can mitigate our dependence on communist China and to 
look for new markets. Last year, in the Working Families Tax Cut, we 
put in an additional $285 million--doubling the amount of money for 
trade promotion--to be able to find new markets for our farmers and 
ranchers.
  My MARKET Act would require the USDA and the USTR to work together to 
look for new markets and to come back with a report to Congress on how 
we can further expand those and mitigate the risks of being dependent 
upon our adversaries like communist China. Do we need to do something 
with regard to legislative action or regulatory action? This will help 
make sure that we continue to be able to expand the trade that is so 
important for our agricultural States, like Nebraska.
  About a third of everything we grow in Nebraska gets exported 
overseas. We are the fifth largest ag exporter in the country. These 
markets overseas are important to our strong economy in Nebraska. My 
MARKET Act will help make sure we continue to look for opportunities to 
be able to grow that.
  I am proud of our farmers and ranchers. They do a great job of 
feeding our great Nation. And I am proud to be able to continue to 
support them here in Washington, DC.
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