"Just this week, I received dozens of letters from farmers across the state who today face an ever-greater challenge to feed a growing population with fewer and fewer farm families.  Unpredictable weather and changing market prices make it increasingly difficult year-in and year-out for them to make ends meet and maintain their livelihoods.   

"I believe we must do more to help the farm families and our farms in our country, and as a member of the Agriculture Committee, I will fight to make sure our nation’s agriculture policy properly supports our agriculture industry.  Our farmers deserve it, and our future depends on it. 

"I hope you will join me—this week and every week—in thanking the men and women of agriculture, who dedicate themselves to providing for all of us the most abundant and most affordable food and fiber supply in the world." 

“I want to be an economic ambassador for South Arkansas, and I want to reverse the trend of declining jobs and population in the Delta,” Congressman Ross said.  “I believe the DRA is a critical first step in making that happen.  However, until the President appoints a federal co-chair we cannot move forward on this important initiative.”  

In January, Ross joined several of his colleagues in the House of Representatives, including Berry, in sending a letter to President Bush asking him to act quickly to appoint a federal co-chair to the DRA.  Once the co-chair is in place, the agency can begin work to meet statutory deadlines included in the legislation that require the agency to put together a long-term plan and start providing economic assistance to the states involved.  The DRA encompasses counties in seven states:  Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. 

 “Thirteen of the 26 counties in my district are part of the Delta.  The Delta Regional Authority will help bring more economic development, better infrastructure and improved educational opportunities to the communities of this region.  I urge the President to make this a top priority,” Ross added.  

Reps. James L. Oberstar (D-MN), Jerry F. Costello (D-IL), and Harold E. Ford, Jr. (D-TN) also attended the press conference.  Oberstar is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, and Costello is the ranking Democrat on the Transportation Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.  Ford was a co-sponsor of the DRA legislation, which was co-authored by Berry.