Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR), a Member of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013:

“Today, the House took the first step in the long process of putting a full, five-year Farm Bill in place. This is not a perfect bill, nor is this approach my first choice. However, more than anything Arkansas must have a Farm Bill in place. Passage of this measure puts us one step closer in getting to conference with the Senate, where I hope to continue to influence the debate in a way that represents our state’s best interests.

“We still have a long road ahead. I plan to work as closely as possible with Arkansas’ agricultural community to make sure what is signed into law is positive for the industry and responsibly reforms government programs. I believe this bill is a positive step toward eliminating duplicative programs and streamlining government spending. We can still reach for reform. We will continue to do so on behalf of Arkansas agriculture and rural America.”