Raised in an Air Force family, U.S. Representative Rick Crawford has lived all over the United States and in England. His parents instilled in him a devotion to service from a young age. Those simple life lessons have remained with Rick, and are at the forefront of his mind when working on creating a more prosperous America for future generations.
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.
Across all branches of our military, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians risk their lives to protect others by rendering safe every type of ordnance from hand grenades, to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), to naval mines, to nuclear weapons, and more. These highly specialized EOD technicians perform their mission on land and at sea, as well as operating not only in theater abroad but also by partnering with civil authorities and lending their expertise to neutralize domestic threats.
The pressures of war and terrorism have taken their toll on all of our EOD forces, yet the call to service has been answered with an even stronger desire to serve. Whether at war or in peacetime, EOD technicians face death or serious injury on every call for assistance, yet they go forward with the knowledge that they are trained and equipped to face each task.
Despite the critical and brave missions that these warriors fulfill, our nation’s relatively small bomb disposal forces often don’t receive the credit they deserve for the risks they take to protect civilians and their fellow soldiers.
Congressman Crawford, a former Army EOD technician, formed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Caucus in 2011 to serve as a voice in Washington for EOD techs. He currently co-chairs the Caucus with Representatives Susan Davis (CA-53), Brian Mast (FL-18), and Tim Walz (MN-01).
EOD History
Explosive Ordnance Disposal was formed in reaction to a recently emerged threat, namely, unexploded bombs and mines. In 1941, the School of Civilian Defense was organized to train for bomb disposal at Chemical Warfare School, Edgewood Arsenal. Also in 1941, the United States Naval Mine Disposal School was established at Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C, and the first class of that school graduated the same year. The Army and the Navy also both formally decided to organize “Bomb Disposal”, the forerunner of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, in December 1941 following the attack on Peal Harbor.
In the early years, most of the technicians deployed with nothing more than courage, a hammer, a chisel, and a spanner wrench. They had to learn and improvise many render safe procedures using only their collective knowledge, instinct, and the lessons learned from their sometimes fallen brethren. Since those early days, EOD has assumed many new missions and roles, as well as becoming increasingly technologically advanced and precise.
With increased concerns of terrorism in the wake of recent attacks, many are realizing that the nature of attacks against U.S. forces or on U.S. soil have fundamentally changed. Enemies attempting to harm our nation will increasingly turn to lone-wolf tactics, which very well may include explosive devices that our bomb technicians will be counted on to render safe.
The unofficial motto of EOD, “Initial Success or Total Failure”, is not taken lightly by members in the field. It reflects their training, attitude, and drive to be the absolute best at what they do, while still knowingly accepting both the dangers and the fate that may await them.
The issue of immigration reform is too important to not get right. It is vital that we work to secure our borders before any serious discussion on reform can begin. Focus must also be placed on enforcing the immigration laws that are already in existence. I believe a broken immigration system is a threat to our national security interests. If we continue to let undocumented workers cross our borders, not only does it threaten our economy, but it threatens the safety of the American people. I believe that robust and effective border security is the most important step towards getting our immigration system right. Without proper border security, all other efforts to fix the system will not work.
No matter what kind of bill ultimately makes it to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote, I will not support a measure that fails to make the border more secure and I will not support a measure that gives blanket amnesty to those who broke the law.
Increasingly, Congress is divided not along partisan lines but along urban v.s. suburban and rural divides. Rural and to some extent suburban Americans face unique challenges that those who live in metro areas aren't familiar with. Although many of the issues related to rural America are agricultural issues, problems like poor nutrition, healthcare access, economic development, connectivity, and workforce education and training also deeply affect the quality of life for Americans who live outside of dense cities. As a member from a very rural district in middle America, Congressman Crawford is intimately familiar with the unique challenges facing rural Americans and he works to highlight their concerns in Congress.
For decades, struggling towns across America have adopted a “chasing smokestacks” strategy for economic development. Congressman Crawford thinks that while traditional economic development must continue, the future economy will have different benchmarks for sustaining our schools, businesses, and towns. We need to begin focusing more on the quality of life offered in our rural communities that meet the new benchmarks that the younger generations will demand. He also sees entrepreneurship as key to the survivability of smaller towns.
In rural America, access is key, whether it’s for education, healthcare, food security, or employment. Crawford believes that in order to keep our rural communities viable while keeping our spending under control, we need to leverage new technologies that allow small towns the access they need to crucial services without over spending.
As electrification brought rural America into the 20th century, reliable, saturated internet access will bring rural America into the 21st century. Crawford has long argued that robust rural broadband development is crucial for the economic viability and future of rural towns.
Congressman Crawford believes that rules are often created in Washington and then applied to the nation at large without respect and deference to regional differences. From Waters of the U.S., to the Endangered Species Act, to the White River’s Blueway Designation, Crawford has fought back against gross and incompetent federal overreach that actually harms many rural communities.
Congressman Crawford has served as the chairman of the two most significant subcommittees on the House Agriculture Committee: 1) Farm Commodities and Risk Management; 2) Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit. In those roles, he has been a significant author of the current farm bill and is continuously working to improve that legislation through hearings, markups, and tours of agricultural businesses.
Through his work on the Farm Commodities and Risk Management subcommittee, Congressman Crawford has seen the real impact that large, poorly enforced, and unfair trade agreements have on rural economies. Much like manufacturing in the Midwest, market distorting practices in countries like China and India have hurt American agriculture in several ways. Crawford believes that in order for American agriculture to thrive we need fair trade, not just free trade.
Congressman Crawford views our nation’s agriculture and food supply chains through the larger lens of national security. For a nation to be secure, independent, and healthy, Crawford believes that the nation must be able to feed itself and keep its food safe. The moment America becomes too reliant on foreign food imports, we lose a significant ability to act independently and protect ourselves. Crawford also has a deep respect for production, manufacturing, and the retail side of the food and agriculture industries.
While Crawford realizes the need for supporting our nation’s agriculture producers, he is also a conservative that believes we can reduce the dependence of farmers on the federal government through opening new markets and through better risk management tools like his proposed FRAME Account for farmers, a bill he has introduced several times.
Crawford has also vigorously defended American agriculture from assaults by the EPA. When the EPA tried to regulate the amount of dust produced on farms, Crawford led the charge against the rule. When the EPA broke the law by engaging in lobbying, Crawford called them out for it and questioned the EPA administrator in a House Agriculture hearing.
Education and career training are lifelong, dynamic processes as unique for each individual as their fingerprints. So why is our educational system structured as if there is a system of education and a path to employment that works for everyone? 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. Today, the needs of the market increasingly outpace the abilities and curricula of our education system. 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.
Community colleges and technology programs are already attempting to fill the workforce void by offering cheaper, non-degree courses that allow students to learn the skills that match the needs of local businesses and industries. In fact, community colleges and technology programs can be more hands-on and creative learning environments than their traditional counterparts. In many of these institutions, students actively engage in problem solving in a real world environment instead of passively absorbing information in schools that can sometimes be disconnected from the needs of their communities. By narrowing the gap between our education practices and the final possibilities of career paths, our education system could not only become more efficient, but we would also more completely integrate our schools and communities, allowing them to be living, breathing support systems for each other.
I’m not advocating for the end of four year colleges; for many of our students that path works wonderfully. But we do need to start fully respecting and developing access to other paths (and the students who wish to take them) that lead to careers just as lucrative and fulfilling, particularly since our economy demands it. Policy makers, innovators, technology leaders, and educators must all contribute their unique perspectives that can inform a new educational ecosystem that not only fills skill gaps in our economy, but also encourages engagement and fosters innovation at all levels, from the lower grades to the re-training of fertile minds later on in life.
I understand the importance of helping more students enter the workforce with the skills necessary to compete for and succeed in high-wage, high-demand careers. This is why for the past two years, my office has led the STEM & Manufacturers Tour. Our goal for the tour is to streamline pairing up educators and industry to build an education-to-career ecosystem in rural Arkansas. Our District has so many open technical jobs, and yet each year thousands of students graduate and don't apply for them. A lot of times that's because people just don't know what's available to them. Therefore, my office started taking high school and community college educators from around the First District to visit manufacturing facilities. We want to give educators an inside look at the technological advances in action and how STEM education initiatives can prepare our youth for a career in the manufacturing field, such as steel, agriculture, and automotive so we started the STEM & Manufacturers Tour.
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. I look forward to continually working together in new ways to ensure our students have a bright and exciting future ahead of them, and that they are equipped with the tools and resources necessary to keep the 1st District advancing towards the future and remaining a viable, desirable place to live, work, and raise a family.
Out-of-control government spending remains the biggest threat to our nation's future prosperity and national security. For decades, Republicans and Democrats alike have operated under the false assumption that they can spend their way into prosperity. I regularly vote against budgets because they are almost always disregarded in massive end of the year spending bills, called "omnibus" bills.
I routinely vote against these omnibus bills. Often cobbled together at the end of the year by Congressional leaders and the White House, omnibus bills don't necessarily reflect the interest of Members of Congress or the constituents that they represent.
Congress has a spending problem, not a taxing problem. At the time of this post, the United States nation debt stands at close to $21 trillion. We cannot continue to finance these bad spending habits by borrowing from foreign countries like China, and leaving our children and grandchildren with the bill. We cannot continue to swipe the nation’s credit card and live beyond our means. Since taking office, I have already successfully worked with other Members of Congress to cut more that $50 billion in non-defense discretionary spending.
As long as I am a Member of Congress, I will remain committed to reining in government spending, balancing the budget, and returning to our nation’s founding principles of limited government. Every year I am a cosponsor of several Balanced Budget Amendments to the Constitution, and I'm currently working on a Spending Limitation Amendment, one that will tie our spending to GDP.
Einstein’s definition for insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. For more than half a century, America has maintained a trade embargo with Cuba aimed at breaking or weakening the Castro regime. It has become clear over the last several decades that the embargo has not weakened the regime but instead stifled American business opportunities. I don’t believe it makes sense to deny our farmers and ranchers access to Cuban markets, particularly when our continued insistence on maintaining the embargo yields the same lackluster result.
I’m not advocating for an immediate wholesale repeal of the embargo. I am skeptical this course of action will work, both politically and practically. A better approach is to make cautious and incremental changes to current Cuba policies in ways that benefit the United States and introduce the Cuban people to American products. A bill I have introduced, the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act, repeals only the restrictions on financing and marketing that are currently harming US competitiveness in the Cuban market and limiting export potential.
Under current law, US producers are already permitted to export agricultural commodities to Cuba, but they must do so on a cash-for-crop basis. A cash-only requirement renders export transactions nearly impossible, as foreign importers almost exclusively do business on financing and credit. For that reason, Cubans are forced to buy agricultural products from across the Pacific Ocean from countries that not only charge more for their products but also have historically attempted to undermine American agricultural interests. For example, Cuba imports close to 400,000 tons of rice each year, largely from Vietnam, when they could be buying rice grown here in the United States and Arkansas. The US enjoys an inherent export advantage due to both our close geographic proximity and our state-of-the-art production and food distribution infrastructure.
Current laws and regulations also restrict the ability of Americans to invest in Cuban business. Most people think of all Cuban industry as being state-owned, but that is not entirely the case. Economic disaster became a cruel reality in Cuba after the fall of the Soviet Union, so the government moved to privatize some industry segments by introducing market forces and incentives. Agriculture was one of the first industries over which the Cuban government relinquished some control, leading to the creation of agriculture cooperatives and small private farming. The Cuba Agricultural Exports Act would permit investment in these private enterprises, allowing American companies to contract and form joint ventures with private Cuban agribusiness. I believe these types of partnerships will help build a foundation of goodwill and cooperation that will open the door to long-sought reforms to Cuba the way American influence that brought them to other Communist states.
The Cuba Agricultural Exports Act would provide new economic opportunities and jobs for America’s agriculture industry by providing access to a market that is valued at over $1 billion per year. Arkansas producers have an opportunity to take advantage of this export market as soon as Congress implements common-sense changes to existing law. The Arkansas Farm Bureau understands this reality and firmly stands behind my proposal. I am also fortunate enough to be joined by Arkansas public servants, like Governor Hutchinson, Senator Boozman, and a majority of the State legislature, all working towards a shared goal of ending the failed embargo on Cuba that limits opportunity for farmers and ranchers.
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.
Accomplishments During the 114th Congress:
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act – the FAST Act is a five-year highway program authorization that provides much-needed certainty for states and local governments to plan and undertake long-term, complex projects. The FAST Act refocuses programs on national priorities, including nationally and regionally significant projects and the movement of freight. States and local governments will have more flexibility with funds to address their unique infrastructure needs, and the environmental review and project approval processes are streamlined to accelerate project delivery.
Crawford Amendments
+ Interstate designation for U.S. 63 – now I-555 - Jonesboro and other parts of northeast Arkansas now have interstate access, a crucial component for economic development.
+ Drug Free Commercial Driver Act of 2015 – Allows motor carriers to use hair testing as an acceptable alternative to urinalysis for detecting use of controlled substances by commercial vehicle operator
+Permitting two light- and medium-duty trailers to be towed together under specific conditions, instead of only one at a time
The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act – the WIIN Act improves America's water resources infrastructure by authorizing needed investment in America's ports, channels, locks, and dams, without use of tolls or lockage fees. It returns Congress to the two-year cycle of considering water project authorization legislation to ensure proper Congressional oversight of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, and enables Congress to address the Nation’s water resources development needs. The WIIN Act keeps American jobs in America by strengthening competitiveness and ensuring transportation systems remain attractive.
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 health care 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.
Now, with the support of President Trump, 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.
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.
I strongly believe in the power of the free market to create prosperity. Entrepreneurship and creativity are cornerstones of American exceptionalism, and our continued ability to innovate is a reflection of these qualities. National policies must provide equal opportunity for all and give individuals the necessary tools to succeed despite social status.
It is clear our economy faces unprecedented challenges. I've listened to many people of Arkansas’s First District who face financial strains and don’t know where their next paycheck will come from.
In order to get our country back on track, we must create certainty for businesses by reducing the regulatory burden and permanently lowering taxes. Moreover, I support efforts to overhaul the current tax system by broadening the tax base and lowering the corporate tax rate. These measures would have immediate and long-term effects by spurring job growth and making America more internationally competitive.
Freeing our nation’s economy and putting Arkansans back to work remains my top-priority as a Congressman. I will continue to focus my efforts towards implementing policies that encourage the growth of businesses of all sizes in the United States.