Congressman Crawford Delivers Opening Remarks on the 2026 Farm Bill Markup

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) delivered the following opening remarks on the House Committee on Agriculture’s markup of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. Watch Congressman Crawford’s remarks here or below. 

Read the full remarks below.

Today is a day of progress for agriculture. Today we are building on the historic victories from the Working Families Tax Cut Law to move farm policy forward for the benefit of American producers and ultimately our whole nation who are fed and clothed by their hard work.

This Farm Bill has many great wins for agriculture and I appreciate the Chairman including several of my priorities. Which includes the restoration of Food for Peace to a program that focuses on buying U.S. grown commodities to feed people around the world, the expansion of GusNIP to target areas of greatest need, updating the Wetland Reserve Easement program to consider stewardship responsibilities on par with initial acquisition and restoration, increasing loan limits to recognize modern market conditions, and the creation of an Agricultural Trade Enforcement Task Force.

Though today we are doing good for agriculture, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the hard times producers face. A modernization to the farm safety net led by Chairman Thompson and Chairman Boozman in the Working Families Tax Cut Law will help. Unfortunately, it does not kick in until October and antiquated payment limitations prevent family farms from reaping the full benefits of the update. This includes rice farmers in my district, who are looking at hitting their limitation at 450 acres or less.

That is why I introduced the Bridge the Gap for Rural Communities Act to help farmers and the rural communities that rely on the business of agriculture to bridge the gap from the current desperate situation to the updated safety net. My bill gives producers the option to receive half their PLC and ARC payment months before the October payment date and it suspends payment limitations for a year. That is my idea. I recognize there are others. But ultimately, I am supportive of anything that can lengthen the bridge started by the Trump Administration, to help farmers over the chasm created by years of high input costs, low commodity prices, and nefarious foreign activity.

Times are tough. But farmers are resilient. And for the sake of food security, which is national security, as Congress we must continue to fight for our farmers.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for your hard work on the Farm Bill. This is the next step we need to take to fight for our farmers. I look forward to voting YES and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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