U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, is pushing for more aid to Arkansas and American farmers, but a timeline for more certainty is still unknown.

A $12 billion farmer relief package cleared Congress in late December and the USDA is promising that money will be distributed no later than Feb. 28. However, it is far from enough to compensate the agriculture community for the losses it’s coping with due to trade wars, higher input costs, and low commodity prices. Many experts contend the $12 billion may help offset up to 25% of farm losses.

“It was an inadequate number by itself, which is why we’re working aggressively to provide some legislative solutions,” said Crawford in an interview with The Grand Prairie Herald. “One of those is the Bridge the Gap for Rural America Act, which basically provides a 50% advance payment on your PLC and ARC, as well as lifting the payment limitations for the 2025 crop year.”

The ‘Bridge the Gap’ measure, filed in October 2025 and sponsored by Crawford, is still in the House Agriculture Committee. It would:

– Allow farmers to elect to receive a 50% partial payment for the 2025 crop year now, rather than waiting until October 2026.

– The legislation suspends standard payment caps on Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs for the 2025 crop year.

– It aims to ‘bridge the gap’ between current financial pressures and the implementation of higher payments under the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which takes effect later.

“If the damage is done in 2025, you can’t wait till 2026 to get help,” said Crawford.

He’s not sure when the bill may move as Congress is juggling other issues, such as ICE funding and appropriations measures. Crawford said it is imperative to work on an overall Farm Bill too, but farmers need his relief proposal faster than a Farm Bill can be completed.

“What we need to do now is provide some measure of relief so that the relief comes in the year where the damage took place, not 12 to 14 months down the road,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is cobble together the resources to help farmers get through another really trying year and keep them in business because it’s a national security imperative that our farmers continue to farm.”

In the interview, Crawford, who also chairs the House Intelligence Committee, touched on other issues:

– He said defunding ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is a non-starter for House leadership. “There are always ways we can improve law enforcement. That’s a conversation I’m always willing to have, but in the context of defunding for political purposes, that’s a non-starter.”

– New efforts by the Trump administration to investigate the 2020 election results in Georgia. “I don’t think that was ever settled. It certainly wasn’t settled to my satisfaction.”