USA Rice Thanks Congress for New Farm Law

ARLINGTON, VA, May 23, 2008 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Reece Langley, (703) 236-1471, rlangley@usarice.com

David Coia, (703) 236-2300, dcoia@usarice.com

USA Rice Federation today thanked lawmakers who voted to enact a new farm bill, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.

“This new law provides farmers with the best-possible safety net given current political realities and will allow our industry to continue to meet U.S. and international consumer demand for the high-quality rice they have come to expect from us,” USA Rice Federation Chairman Al Montna said today.

“We offer our sincerest thanks to Congress and especially to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders who have worked tirelessly on this legislation for months. Its importance to our industry and to consumers cannot be overstated,” Montna said.

The U.S. rice industry produces nearly two percent of world’s rice, supplies 88 percent of U.S. consumer demand and is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of the commodity.

“The leadership of rice-state lawmakers was critical to the passage of this farm bill, and we are especially thankful for their efforts,” USA Rice Producers’ Group Chairman Tommy Hoskyn said. “This legislation provides a stable, effective safety net which is particularly important now given the exceptionally high cost of inputs, even though most commodity prices have also risen recently. Farmers, their lenders, and our rural communities need the predictability provided by a sound farm bill given the cyclical nature of agriculture.”

Congress voted May 21 and 22 to overwhelmingly override President Bush’s veto of the 2008 farm bill. However, the veto and votes to override the president’s action were complicated by a House administrative error — the clerical omission of one of the bill’s 15 titles in the official legislative copy the president vetoed. The missing section, Title III, governs market access and foreign market development programs and food aid authorizations, including PL-480, among others.

The House overrode the president 316-108, as did the Senate in an 82-13 vote, with Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) voting “present.” All 12 rice-state senators voted for the override, which enabled 14 titles of the farm bill to become law without any additional action. The remaining trade title issue will need to be resolved after the Memorial Day recess.

The House administrative mistake forced representatives to pass the bill a second time yesterday with Title III included in the legislation. Senate consideration of the complete bill will occur after Memorial Day.

If both chambers approve the complete bill a second time, it will again be sent to the president for his consideration. Although he is expected to again veto the bill, he has the option to take no action, whereby, after approximately 10 days, the legislation would become law.

House leaders called for the second farm bill vote yesterday to avoid any potential legal or other challenges that could have been raised against the measure in the future and to prevent any other confusion that might have arisen. The House passed the completed version of the farm bill by a veto-proof 306-110 margin, though one not quite as large as last week’s 318-106 vote.

All rice-district representatives approved the bill for a second time, with the exception of Rep. Ron Paul, who did not vote.

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The USA Rice Federation is the global advocate for all segments of the U.S. rice industry with a mission to promote and protect the interests of producers, millers, merchants and allied businesses.