Rick Crawford

America is home to the world’s most affordable, abundant, and safe food supply. Industrious producers across America and the 1st District of Arkansas are the source of the food and fiber that feed the millions of mouths here and around the world.  By the year 2050, the world’s population is projected to grow to 9 billion, and I am confident that America will lead the way in agricultural production through technological innovation.

Agriculture is a cornerstone of Arkansas’s economy. Annually, it is a $16 billion industry that employs over 260,000 Arkansans. On a national level, our First District produces more rice by a healthy margin than any other. Agriculture is critical not only to the District, but to the State, the Delta region, and to America.

As a Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, I am responsible for writing policies that support our farmers and advance the interests of American agriculture. A ready supply of food and fiber is a national security priority, and as a nation we should always be self-sufficient with regard to food. The day we become a net importer is the day we say goodbye to our national security. We can’t be dependent on other nations to feed ourselves.

I have worked with my colleagues on oversight and will continue to do everything within my power to scale back the EPA’s overreach.

Additionally, I will continue to actively support the farm safety-net our farmers rely upon. I understand that agriculture is a cyclical industry and the American farmer can often face unforeseeable hardships such as crop failure, climate fluctuation, natural disaster and significant market downturns. It is critical that farmers have support mechanisms so they can mitigate risk and ensure income despite possible setbacks. I am committed to making this my primary focus when I, along with my colleagues on the Agriculture Committee, write the next Farm Bill.

Students have been placed on a single path, an assembly line that leads to a four year college. In this education factory, grades and standardized testing have undermined creativity and innovation. Students who don’t thrive in this mold and either can’t afford college or don’t want to go, are largely forgotten. And those who even make it to the end by graduating college aren’t necessarily well equipped, either for their own personal goals or for the needs of the modern economy. Generations of students have been pushed towards the same end goal without much attention given to what happens once they get out, or to those who never go to college at all.

We desperately need an updated education system, a flexible model that better supports our students, and in turn supports the needs of a highly technological, complex, and skill based economy. Businesses across the country, but perhaps most notably those in the energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and the technology startup sectors are hungry for properly trained and skilled candidates. Many of these companies don’t even need students with a four year bachelor degree, but instead desperately seek highly trained labor, skills that can be learned in half the time and for a fraction of the cost and these companies may even offer incentives to further an employee’s education or training.

If our educational system is not open to transformation and flexibility, our economic growth could suffer and “non-traditional” students will continue to be ignored while traditional students graduate college without the skills needed to enter the workforce. If we will finally dismiss the ingrained notion that the best and most respected path to success and career preparation is a traditional college, we will more completely educate America’s youth and unlock the unique potential of our national workforce.

Arkansans in the First District are accustomed to having control over their health care decisions. When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in 2010, our healthcare system was upended, imperiling many Americans’ quality coverage and access to preferred doctors. Many have been fortunate to secure coverage which was not previously attainable. At the same time, consumers, doctors, hospitals, and others in the healthcare industry have endured frustrating changes that have done little to increase access to quality, affordable, health care.  For rural Americans like us, this is possibly the most critical component to our overall wellness. During the first session of the 115th Congress, I will have the opportunity to vote on legislation to reform our struggling health care system to ensure it is working to improve the lives of rural Arkansans. Rural folks experience a way of life different from our urban and suburban counterparts, and that should be reflected in our health policy. 

I favor patient-centered health care that allows individuals the freedom to make important health related decisions. The Affordable Care Act takes control away from patients, has led to higher health care costs, and restricts accessibility to care. While the uninsured rate has decreased since the passage of the ACA, premiums have done just the opposite. Deductibles have skyrocketed to the point where people can’t afford to visit the doctor. Americans are being forced to choose between purchasing expensive, faulty health care plans or paying a steep penalty. On top of that, the ACA has wrecked our economy, slowing already sluggish growth and adding nearly a trillion dollars to our massive national debt.

Americans should have the control to choose health insurance plans that fit their needs, and the needs of their families. Expanding and simplifying Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts will provide greater flexibility to save and pay for medical expenses. Insurance companies should be able to sell their plans across state lines, which garners competition and lower premiums.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to finally repeal and replace the ACA. The solutions will not happen overnight, but I can guarantee that my colleagues and I will work until we craft a replacement plan that is beneficial for every American. We will finally be able to implement sensible, conservative, market based reforms to drive down the cost of healthcare in this country.

Since our nation’s beginning, when the Constitution provided Congress with the power to establish roads and regulate commerce, the federal government has played a major role in providing our Country with improvements to transportation and infrastructure. Arkansas is blessed with miles of major corridors on both land and water. Farmers and businesses depend on our nation’s interstate and inland waterway systems to transport their goods throughout the country and the world. 

As a Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I am committed to ensuring that our nation’s transportation system is safe and efficient. Our Country’s diverse and distant communities are united together, and commerce thrives, particularly because the American people have always understood the importance of a unified and organized transportation system. Maintaining and strengthening our infrastructure provides unparalleled return on taxpayer investment, and will employ thousands of Arkansans as well as encourage businesses to set up shop in Arkansas.

Arkansas is home to more than 230,000 Veterans and I am honored and humbled to represent so many of them right here in the 1st Congressional District. As a Veteran of the United States Army, the son of a Veteran of the United States Air Force, and the brother of Veterans, I appreciate the hard work and incredible sacrifice that is required of our service-members and their families. I remain committed to protecting those who have served and continue to serve our great Country. During the 115th Congress, I have cosponsored H.R. 846, the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, and H.R. 1989, the VET TEC Act. These bills will help Veterans’ families, improve access to healthcare for those who have earned it, and help Veterans find jobs after they leave the military.

The care of our Veterans should never be a political issue, and I will continue to fight to guarantee that our Veterans receive the care they deserve.  I understand the very real concerns about the unacceptable wait times to receive healthcare and the backlog of Veterans’ benefits claims. I believe increasing Veterans’ access to timely and quality healthcare, as well as the processing time for Veterans’ benefits claims should be the Department of Veterans Affairs’ greatest priorities.  I am dedicated to working with the members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Veterans Affair Secretary David Shulkin to create meaningful and effective reform to ensure our Veterans receive the care that was promised.