Ricketts on the Senate Floor: Proud of Nebraska Farmers and Ranchers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) expressed his support for Nebraska farmers and ranchers and highlighted Nebraska’s leadership in beef and renewable fuels. May is Beef Month and Renewable Fuels Month. Senator Ricketts also discussed the MARKET Act , legislation he introduced today to identify new export markets for American ag products and ensure our farmers and ranchers are not beholden to Communist China. “Last week the Senate passed my resolution to proclaim May as Beef Month throughout the entire country, and again, this is our leading industry in Nebraska, the beef industry,” said Ricketts. “We are the leading state for exporting beef, $1.7 billion worth.  We’re a leader in the categories that describe beef.  In fact, we’ve got over 6 million head of cattle.  We’ve got the three highest beef-producing counties in the country, in Nebraska.  We’re very proud of our beef industry, and of course it’s the best-tasting beef in the entire world…It’s also Renewable Fuels Month, and Nebraska is again a leader in renewable fuels — 2.2 billion gallons. Not only is this important for creating jobs in our small towns and rural communities, but this is one of the ways that consumers can save money at the pump.” “Communist China, at the end of the day, is a bad trading partner.  We need to make sure we hold them accountable for the commitments they make, and I expect this administration will do just that,” said Ricketts. “They have a track record of doing that.  In addition, we need to look at diversifying our export markets.  That is why I am introducing the MARKET Act.  The MARKET Act would instruct the US Department of Agriculture and the US Trade Representative to look at ways that we can mitigate our dependence on Communist China and look for new markets.” Watch the video HERE. TRANSCRIPT: Senator Ricketts : “Mr. President, I am proud to represent the great state of Nebraska. “Agriculture is our number one industry in Nebraska, and I’m also proud to represent our farmers and ranchers, who are the best in the world. “Agriculture is the heart and soul of what we do in our state of Nebraska. “We produce the finest products, the safest food. “We feed and fuel our great nation. “Now it’s no secret that our farmers and ranchers have had some challenges. “We have seen low commodity prices and high input costs. “We’ve also seen a drought in my state, as well as wildfires that are the worst in our state’s history, burning over a million acres. “But our farmers and ranchers, they’re tough and resilient. “They find ways to come together and get through the tough times, they contribute to their communities, and despite all this, they continue to invest to make sure that we have a strong agricultural sector in Nebraska — and this is also important for our country. “Food security is national security. “Last week the Senate passed my resolution to proclaim May as Beef Month throughout the entire country, and again, this is our leading industry in Nebraska, the beef industry. “We are the leading state for exporting beef, $1.7 billion worth. “We’re a leader in the categories that describe beef. “In fact, we’ve got over 6 million head of cattle. “We’ve got the three highest beef-producing counties in the country, in Nebraska. “We’re very proud of our beef industry, and of course it’s the best-tasting beef in the entire world, even if the president doesn’t agree with that right now, being from Montana. “So we’re very, very proud of that. “It’s also Renewable Fuels Month, and Nebraska is again a leader in renewable fuels — 2.2 billion gallons. “Not only is this important for creating jobs in our small towns and rural communities, but this is one of the ways that consumers can save money at the pump. “Last time I filled up on E10, a 10% blend of ethanol, I saved 55 cents a gallon at my local Hy-Vee. “It’s also a great way to help clean up the environment, and of course it’s great for our farmers and ranchers — also great for our country. “There are estimates that our renewable fuels industry, which is so great for our corn farmers and soybean farmers, also displaces about 640 million barrels of foreign oil. “That means we are less dependent on foreign sources of energy. “This is again a great way for consumers to save money, but also for us to strengthen our energy independence — American first energy independence. “Our homegrown solution is biofuels. “Now, at the summit last week, where President Trump was in Beijing, we heard good news with regard to potential additional purchases of American agricultural products. “US Trade Representative Jameson Greer said there’ll be double-digit billions of dollars of additional agricultural product purchases over 2026, 2027, and 2028 — maybe $17 billion in each of those years. “And that’s on top of the 25 million metric tons that Communist China agreed to buy last year in October. “That certainly is good news for our farmers. “What we need is to make sure that we hold Communist China accountable for those purchases. “We need to recall that in the first Trump administration, they signed the Phase One trade deal with Communist China, but as soon as President Trump was out of office, China reneged on that deal. “We’ve seen them capriciously turn away cargo ships of our corn; they’ve delisted our beef processors. “Communist China, at the end of the day, is a bad trading partner. “We need to make sure we hold them accountable for the commitments they make, and I expect this administration will do just that. “They have a track record of doing that. “In addition, we need to look at diversifying our export markets. “That is why I am introducing the MARKET Act. “The MARKET Act would instruct the US Department of Agriculture and the US Trade Representative to look at ways that we can mitigate our dependence on Communist China and look for new markets. “Last year, through the Working Families Tax Cut, we put an additional $285 million — double the amount of money — for trade promotion, to be able to find new markets for our farmers and ranchers. “My MARKET Act would require USDA and USTR to work together to look for new markets and to come back with a report to Congress on how we can further expand those and mitigate the risks of being dependent upon adversaries like Communist China. “Do we need to take legislative action or regulatory action? “This will help make sure that we continue to be able to expand the trade that is so important for agricultural states like Nebraska. “About a third of everything that we grow in Nebraska gets exported overseas. “We’re the fifth largest ag-exporting state. “These markets overseas are important to our strong economy in Nebraska. “My MARKET Act will help make sure we continue to look for opportunities to be able to grow that. “I’m proud of our farmers and ranchers. “They do a great job of feeding our great nation. “I’m proud to be able to continue to support them here in Washington, DC.”