Congressional Recap: Jonesboro Crew Visits D.C. Delegation

The state’s congressional delegation was busy this week dealing with trade and financial issues. The group also received a visit from a 43-member delegation representing the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The following is a breakdown on the week that was for the state’s delegation in the nation’s capital.

CUBA TRADE DISCUSSED AT SENATE HEARING
On Tuesday, an official with an agriculture cooperative spoke to a Senate committee about building increased trade with Cuba.

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Risk Management for Riceland Foods Terry Harris testified before the Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition committee in Washington, D.C.

Harris told the committee about the positive impact trade with Cuba, especially rice, would have for Arkansas and the country.

“The U.S. rice industry wholeheartedly supports the opportunity to move to normal commercial relations with Cuba,” Harris told lawmakers. “Prior to the U.S. embargo on Cuba more than 50 years ago, the island was the number one export destination for U.S. rice.”

The trade issue also drew support from Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who serves on the committee.

“As the largest rice producer in the country, Arkansas is in a good position to benefit from exporting this commodity to Cuba,” Boozman said. “This is a great way to expand agriculture markets and to share our ideals with the Cuban people.”

Also, Boozman introduced a bill that would seek to improve the export of American agricultural commodities to Cuba.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, is called the Agricultural Export Expansion Act. Under the bill, which would require changing a provision in current law, it would lift the ban on private banks and companies from offering credit for agricultural exports to Cuba.

JONESBORO CHAMBER VISITS D.C.
A series of infrastructure issues were on the minds of more than 40 Northeast Arkansas residents who took a trip this week to the nation’s capital.

Members of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with city and county officials, made their case for the projects.

They include finishing work to link U.S. 67 and Arkansas 226 near Jonesboro; getting U.S. 63 from Jonesboro to Crittenden County upgraded to interstate status; and building an overpass at the intersection of Highland Drive and Nettleton Avenue in Jonesboro.

The U.S. 63 designation to I-555 is considered crucial for the region’s growth, officials have said in the past.

Right now, there is one obstacle to the issue.

An access road must be built across the St. Francis River floodway west of Marked Tree before the highway can become an interstate.

However, Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, announced earlier this month that he will introduce legislation to exempt certain vehicles from some of the weight limit restrictions that are created when a highway become an interstate.

Chamber executive vice president Cari White said the meetings with members of the delegation, as well as staff members, would stress the need for the projects.

COTTON TALKS TRADE WITH CANADA
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Wednesday, spoke about the long history of support between the United States and Canada.

Cotton gave a speech on the Senate floor, focusing on trade and the ties that both countries have in the world.

“In 1941, in an address delivered at an event in honor of the Canadian Prime Minister, Winston Churchill famously declared ‘Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world.’ As with most things, Churchill was able to see deeper truths and recognize Canada for what it really is. Today, I want to recognize the close and vital relationship between the United States and Canada, our great neighbor to the north. Canada is a critical partner to both America and Arkansas. We ought to find every way to strengthen our relationship and avoid every possible trouble on the horizon,” Cotton said.

Cotton said both countries have a “common heritage and a common way of life: individual rights, constitutional democracy, the rule of law, open markets and defense of freedom around the world.”

As for the markets, Cotton said Arkansas benefits from having a strong trading partnership and the impact that a new Country of Origin Labeling requirements have on meat products processed in the United States.