H.R. No. 1079



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Texas rice belt, stretching across the coastal 
plain from San Antonio Bay to the Sabine River, has long been a 
major component of this state's agricultural sector; Texas ranks 
fourth in production nationally, and milling, processing, 
shipping, and other activities create a combined Texas rice 
industry impact of $1 billion annually; and
	WHEREAS, Production of this grain staple also yields 
attendant environmental benefits; rice fields represent an 
important habitat for many waterfowl, wading and shore birds, and 
other wildlife and contribute as well a freshwater runoff to Texas 
bays and estuaries that helps to nurture the state's fish and shrimp 
populations; and
	WHEREAS, Regrettably, Texas rice production and the total 
dollar value earned by growers are both declining; total crop 
output fell by a third between 1994 and 2000, a situation 
exacerbated by a concurrent drop of about 20 percent in the 
per-hundredweight price received by producers; and
	WHEREAS, In November 2002 in Houston, the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture held a listening session for rice farmers and other 
interested parties to gauge what effect federal farm programs are 
having on the economic viability of rice production and on other 
parts of the rice industry and associated infrastructure; and
	WHEREAS, Criticism focused on features of the 1996 and 2002 
farm bills that reward, in common tenancy situations, not so much 
the farmer as the landlord; the misplaced federal incentives thus 
frequently pay for the idling of, rather than production from, 
Texas rice fields; and
	WHEREAS, Discussions prompted by the Houston session have 
resulted in a proposal for a Texas pilot program to modify the 2002 
farm legislation through an increase in the federal loan price, 
producing an offsetting diminution in the formula-based direct 
payment; and
	WHEREAS, A policy correction is imperative, given the current 
situation in the Texas rice industry, and this chamber favors the 
solution outlined above as the most feasible action to take that 
will result in cost savings to the federal budget while bolstering 
the state's rice farmers, its wildlife, and the livelihood of its 
coastal rural communities; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby express its support for an increase in the 
federal loan value for Texas rice in a pilot program that will 
maintain the state's rice industry while fostering wildlife habitat 
and other environmental and economic benefits along the Texas Gulf 
Coast.

Cook of Colorado    Bohac                 
Bonnen                Callegari             
Dawson                Eiland                
Ellis                 Hardcastle            
Hegar                 Howard                
Ritter                Seaman                


                                                  ______________________________
                                                       Speaker of the House     

	I certify that H.R. No. 1079 was adopted by the House on May 
28, 2003, by a non-record vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House