Asa Hutchinson: “last month we had a very serious, severe snow and ice storm in Arkansas. It brought life in Arkansas to a halt. Schools…”

“last month we had a very serious, severe snow and ice storm in Arkansas. It brought life in Arkansas to a halt. Schools and businesses closed, airports, including the Little Rock Airport, were snowed in, and highways were littered with hundreds of stranded motorists. It was not too unlike the situation we had in the Nation's Capital, except it blanketed the entire State of Arkansas. Fortunately, there were very few human fatalities that were reported, but Arkansas's poultry farmers and the poultry industry suffered very heavy losses. Snow and ice built up on poultry houses across the State, and the sheer weight caused the roofs on almost 800 poultry houses to collapse, killing an estimated 10.5 million chickens. Dennis Richie, a poultry farmer in Nashville, AR, had six poultry houses the morning of Thursday, January 27. By Friday evening, half of his houses were destroyed, along with the income he needs to provide for his family. Hubert Hardin, another poultry farmer near Nashville, AR, and a single parent, lost all of his poultry houses in the storm. That means fewer options for him in supporting his family, his children. The poultry industry is a pillar of Arkansas's agricultural industry and one of my State's leading employers. These losses represent a very real danger to my constituents and to Arkansas's economy. That is why, today, I am introducing the Poultry Farmer Disaster Relief Act of 2000.”