Shomari Figures
Representative for Alabama · Democratic · United States
“While the Trump Administration extended approximately $20 billion in financial support to the Government of Argentina, American agricultural producers are facing measurable financial strain and need support.”
“While the Trump Administration extended approximately $20 billion in financial support to the Government of Argentina, American agricultural producers are facing measurable financial strain and need support.”
“These challenges have been compounded by rising fuel and fertilizer costs due to the Iran War and retaliatory tariffs resulting from the Trump Administration's trade policies, which have reduced export opportunities and created current and future uncertainty in agricultural markets.”
“These challenges have been compounded by rising fuel and fertilizer costs due to the Iran War and retaliatory tariffs resulting from the Trump Administration's trade policies, which have reduced export opportunities and created current and future uncertainty in agricultural markets.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E691] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] INTRODUCTION OF THE TARIFF IMPACTED FARMER SUPPORT ACT OF 2026 ____…”
“Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E691] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] INTRODUCTION OF THE TARIFF IMPACTED FARMER SUPPORT ACT OF 2026 ____…”
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“While the Trump Administration extended approximately $20 billion in financial support to the Government of Argentina, American agricultural producers are facing measurable financial strain and need support. The Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026 would authorize up to $15 billion through the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide direct assistance to qualifying agricultural producers of soybeans, cotton, corn, peanuts, and poultry with no repayment obligation. Eligibility would be limited to agricultural producers with gross annual farm revenues of $500,000 or less, consistent with applicable definitions under the Food Security Act. Assistance would be based on documented revenue losses between the 2024 and 2026 crop years, utilizing receipts, contracts, and other producer records to verify eligibility.”
“These challenges have been compounded by rising fuel and fertilizer costs due to the Iran War and retaliatory tariffs resulting from the Trump Administration's trade policies, which have reduced export opportunities and created current and future uncertainty in agricultural markets. For farmers operating on thin margins, a single year of substantial losses can threaten the long-term viability of their operations. Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Alabama's and the American economy, supporting rural communities and generating billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Despite their importance, this Administration has not adequately addressed the harm its policies and decisions have had on farmers.”
“The Trump Administration's tariffs and foreign policies have uniquely impacted these farmers, who are experiencing significant revenue losses due to increased fuel and fertilizer costs and a reduced ability to export their products to foreign markets. This bill seeks to support small and mid-sized family farming operations and ensure that America's producers can continue feeding, fueling, and clothing our Nation. Farmers across Alabama and the Nation continue to face rising production costs, market volatility, and economic uncertainty that have placed extraordinary pressure on family farming operations.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E691] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] INTRODUCTION OF THE TARIFF IMPACTED FARMER SUPPORT ACT OF 2026 ______ HON. SHOMARI FIGURES of alabama in the house of representatives Wednesday, July 15, 2026 Mr. FIGURES. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026, which would establish a temporary Farmer Support and Revenue Loss Assistance Program to provide targeted relief for producers of cotton, peanuts, soybeans, corn, and poultry.”
“While the Trump Administration extended approximately $20 billion in financial support to the Government of Argentina, American agricultural producers are facing measurable financial strain and need support. The Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026 would authorize up to $15 billion through the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide direct assistance to qualifying agricultural producers of soybeans, cotton, corn, peanuts, and poultry with no repayment obligation. Eligibility would be limited to agricultural producers with gross annual farm revenues of $500,000 or less, consistent with applicable definitions under the Food Security Act. Assistance would be based on documented revenue losses between the 2024 and 2026 crop years, utilizing receipts, contracts, and other producer records to verify eligibility.”
“These challenges have been compounded by rising fuel and fertilizer costs due to the Iran War and retaliatory tariffs resulting from the Trump Administration's trade policies, which have reduced export opportunities and created current and future uncertainty in agricultural markets. For farmers operating on thin margins, a single year of substantial losses can threaten the long-term viability of their operations. Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Alabama's and the American economy, supporting rural communities and generating billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Despite their importance, this Administration has not adequately addressed the harm its policies and decisions have had on farmers.”
“The Trump Administration's tariffs and foreign policies have uniquely impacted these farmers, who are experiencing significant revenue losses due to increased fuel and fertilizer costs and a reduced ability to export their products to foreign markets. This bill seeks to support small and mid-sized family farming operations and ensure that America's producers can continue feeding, fueling, and clothing our Nation. Farmers across Alabama and the Nation continue to face rising production costs, market volatility, and economic uncertainty that have placed extraordinary pressure on family farming operations.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E691] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] INTRODUCTION OF THE TARIFF IMPACTED FARMER SUPPORT ACT OF 2026 ______ HON. SHOMARI FIGURES of alabama in the house of representatives Wednesday, July 15, 2026 Mr. FIGURES. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026, which would establish a temporary Farmer Support and Revenue Loss Assistance Program to provide targeted relief for producers of cotton, peanuts, soybeans, corn, and poultry.”
“Speaker, as I stand here today as a Member of Congress, someone who has followed in her footsteps, it is not only my father who I seek to make proud in this moment, but it is Alexis Herman. I can stand here today because of people like her. ____________________”
“She worked to promote job training opportunities for low-income Americans. After that, she didn't quit. She always reached back. She always gave back. She always served as a mentor to give advice to people like myself, who wanted to pursue similar career tracks. That led her to sitting in the boardrooms for companies like MGM, Coca-Cola, and Toyota, some of the biggest companies in the world. She never forgot where she came from. She never did. In January of this year, when she was quietly battling a condition, she took [[Page H1691]] time to send me a text message that read: Shomari, as you take your seat, congratulations. Your dad would be looking down on you proudly. Happy New Year. Mr.”
“She then helped get African Americans jobs and apprenticeships at the shipyards for the first time in Mississippi. That led her to doing similar work in Atlanta and helping to diversify some corporations there. That caught the attention of a young Georgia Governor named Jimmy Carter, who was running for President. He ultimately named her, at just 29 years old, the director of the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor. Mr. Speaker, her journey took her from a segregated Alabama to serving as an adviser to Jimmy Carter and, ultimately, serving as the director of the Office of the Public Liaison, as it was called at the time, under President Clinton. That led to her being a member of the President's Cabinet as the Secretary of Labor where, under her tenure, unemployment fell to a 30-year low here in the United States.”
“It led to him one day actually being run off the road by the Klan. His five-year- old daughter, Alexis Herman, sat in the car and listened as her father was beaten by the Klan. Her mother was a schoolteacher who Alexis had actually witnessed being thrown off of a segregated bus as a child. This produced Alexis, who went on to be a fighter for civil rights and a fighter for women's rights. She first stood up as a young woman when she challenged why African-American students at her parochial school were not allowed to participate in religious pageantry. She was suspended for that, but that was just the beginning. When she finished school after graduating from Xavier University, she came back home to Mobile, Alabama, and helped desegregate other parochial schools.”
“They were people who all were born within a 10- to 15-year range of each other, African Americans, names that some know around the world, like Hank Aaron, but others like my father, Michael Figures, and Thomas Figures, General Gary Cooper, Lonnie Johnson, Yvonne Kennedy, Sam Jones, and this body's very own Sanford Bishop. They were all born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, in generally the same timeframe, and went on to break through a number of barriers, color barriers and otherwise, throughout their careers and make significant contributions to this Nation. Mr. Speaker, Alexis Herman's parents prepared her for the life that she had. Her father was actually the first Black person elected in the State of Alabama to any position post-Reconstruction. This led to him being very active and motivated in Black voter participation.”
“I then pursued career opportunities at the White House. Again, I called on Alexis Herman because she too had worked in the White House multiple times. When considering a run for Congress, the seat that I now hold today, I again called Alexis Herman. That is not because I had known her my whole life, it is because few people could advise on the level that she could. Mr. Speaker, to understand Alexis Herman, you have to understand where she comes from. She was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, my hometown. She came of age with a number of people and some names who you would recognize if you are from the Mobile area.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1690-H1691] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 1030 HONORING ALEXIS MARGARET HERMAN (Mr. Figures of Alabama was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. FIGURES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a true hometown hero, a legendary trailblazer, a family friend, a mentor to me and many others, and the former Secretary of Labor for this great Nation, Alexis Margaret Herman. I had the privilege to work on a Presidential campaign myself, President Obama's campaign. Before I decided to join that campaign, I called Alexis Herman because she had worked on several Presidential campaigns.”
“Speaker, as I stand here today as a Member of Congress, someone who has followed in her footsteps, it is not only my father who I seek to make proud in this moment, but it is Alexis Herman. I can stand here today because of people like her. ____________________”
“She worked to promote job training opportunities for low-income Americans. After that, she didn't quit. She always reached back. She always gave back. She always served as a mentor to give advice to people like myself, who wanted to pursue similar career tracks. That led her to sitting in the boardrooms for companies like MGM, Coca-Cola, and Toyota, some of the biggest companies in the world. She never forgot where she came from. She never did. In January of this year, when she was quietly battling a condition, she took [[Page H1691]] time to send me a text message that read: Shomari, as you take your seat, congratulations. Your dad would be looking down on you proudly. Happy New Year. Mr.”
“She then helped get African Americans jobs and apprenticeships at the shipyards for the first time in Mississippi. That led her to doing similar work in Atlanta and helping to diversify some corporations there. That caught the attention of a young Georgia Governor named Jimmy Carter, who was running for President. He ultimately named her, at just 29 years old, the director of the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor. Mr. Speaker, her journey took her from a segregated Alabama to serving as an adviser to Jimmy Carter and, ultimately, serving as the director of the Office of the Public Liaison, as it was called at the time, under President Clinton. That led to her being a member of the President's Cabinet as the Secretary of Labor where, under her tenure, unemployment fell to a 30-year low here in the United States.”
“It led to him one day actually being run off the road by the Klan. His five-year- old daughter, Alexis Herman, sat in the car and listened as her father was beaten by the Klan. Her mother was a schoolteacher who Alexis had actually witnessed being thrown off of a segregated bus as a child. This produced Alexis, who went on to be a fighter for civil rights and a fighter for women's rights. She first stood up as a young woman when she challenged why African-American students at her parochial school were not allowed to participate in religious pageantry. She was suspended for that, but that was just the beginning. When she finished school after graduating from Xavier University, she came back home to Mobile, Alabama, and helped desegregate other parochial schools.”
“They were people who all were born within a 10- to 15-year range of each other, African Americans, names that some know around the world, like Hank Aaron, but others like my father, Michael Figures, and Thomas Figures, General Gary Cooper, Lonnie Johnson, Yvonne Kennedy, Sam Jones, and this body's very own Sanford Bishop. They were all born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, in generally the same timeframe, and went on to break through a number of barriers, color barriers and otherwise, throughout their careers and make significant contributions to this Nation. Mr. Speaker, Alexis Herman's parents prepared her for the life that she had. Her father was actually the first Black person elected in the State of Alabama to any position post-Reconstruction. This led to him being very active and motivated in Black voter participation.”
“I then pursued career opportunities at the White House. Again, I called on Alexis Herman because she too had worked in the White House multiple times. When considering a run for Congress, the seat that I now hold today, I again called Alexis Herman. That is not because I had known her my whole life, it is because few people could advise on the level that she could. Mr. Speaker, to understand Alexis Herman, you have to understand where she comes from. She was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, my hometown. She came of age with a number of people and some names who you would recognize if you are from the Mobile area.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1690-H1691] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 1030 HONORING ALEXIS MARGARET HERMAN (Mr. Figures of Alabama was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. FIGURES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a true hometown hero, a legendary trailblazer, a family friend, a mentor to me and many others, and the former Secretary of Labor for this great Nation, Alexis Margaret Herman. I had the privilege to work on a Presidential campaign myself, President Obama's campaign. Before I decided to join that campaign, I called Alexis Herman because she had worked on several Presidential campaigns.”
“We have to continue to address those environmental health threats in places like Alabama and across the country, where you see disproportionately higher rates of cancer in certain communities because they are located in certain places. We have to be serious about this. It is a privilege to be able to speak on the importance of this issue, especially under the leadership of Representative Clyburn.”
“Nobody should have to choose between getting treatment and putting food on the table. There are too many people who should be able to go see a doctor who are not because they refuse to expand Medicaid. We also have to invest in our healthcare infrastructure, particularly in our rural healthcare infrastructure, bringing back those hospitals and clinics and bringing in telehealth hubs, leveraging every resource we have to improve healthcare outcomes. We have to increase funding for Black maternal health initiatives because these are problems we should not be having in 2025. In 2025, we should not be having nearly as many women die from childbirth complications and pregnancy-related causes as we do. When you look at the disparities racially, it is stark. It is shocking. We have to get to the bottom of why that is.”
“That is because this is impacting people of African-American descent and Black people in this country in the way it is not impacting other races. We have an obligation, a moral duty as a nation to figure out why. That is why cuts to things like NIH aren't productive. It is not helpful. It is harmful. If you ever want your conscience to be shocked, walk into a dialysis treatment facility in probably any community in this country, then do the statistics yourself. Ask yourself why that is and why can't we figure that out. Why are we not investing more resources, more time, and more attention and focus on trying to improve healthcare outcomes for Black people in this country? We have to. We must. We must start this process by expanding Medicaid in States like mine, the State of Alabama. We must do that.”
“People in the State of Alabama have been trying to get me to come visit as many healthcare facilities as possible to shed light and to give more context behind what's really happening in the healthcare system in the State of Alabama. The dialysis community brought me in for a tour last week in Montgomery, Alabama, at the DaVita Center. You see these nurses and technicians that are doing God's work in keeping people alive, but one thing jumps out at you. You can't help but see that every patient in there looks like me. Every kidney dialysis patient looks like me, and so I asked: Is this just a certain day or is this how it goes? They had representatives from five or six facilities there, and all of them said the same thing: No, our patient rolls are about 90 percent Black.”
“How do you get retirees to want to come back home where they grew up and set up shop, and you tell them, we don't have a hospital, we don't have a geriatrician? Seven of the thirteen counties in my district don't even have a pediatrician. We have to get serious about addressing this issue in the community. It is an existential threat, it truly is. We know the other statistics: Black Alabamians are more likely to suffer from diabetes and amputations that result from them or to die from untreated cancers or undiagnosed cancers or late-diagnosed cancers and experience preventable complications from just general chronic illnesses. When it comes to kidney disease and dialysis access, the results are alarming.”
“We have to understand that these counties where these hospitals have been closing that insurance remains out of reach because the jobs aren't there. We have to understand that preventative care in many of these places is also just a dream because the condition of the communities don't warrant healthcare practitioners setting up shop there or staying there. I don't care who you are. I come from Alabama, we treat Nick Sabin, and rightfully so, as the greatest college football coach of all time, but I can tell you one thing about this: Nick Sabin could not close a recruiting pitch to a business to come relocate in a county that does not have a hospital. I don't care who you are. Businesses don't want to relocate there. Hell, businesses don't even want to remain there.”
“I think we are technically third by some decimal points, so congratulations, we live a few weeks longer in the State of Alabama than, say, West Virginia and Mississippi. It is nothing to really be proud of. We are at the bottom of the barrel. Yet, we haven't expanded Medicaid, which is one of the reasons that the first piece of legislation that I joined when I was fortunate enough to be sworn into this body was the COVER Now Act, which would allow counties and cities to be able to get Medicaid expansion funding directly and get through the resistance that the State has put up now for well over a decade. We have got to do better than that. We can continue to ring the alarm, but we have to do better. We have to. We have to address the underlying causes and the underlying issues here.”
“We have to be cognizant of the impact that this is going to continue to have on the African-American community, and we have to be focused on solutions, but we also have to understand [[Page H1677]] how we got here. This is not just something that we stumbled upon. It is not that the data didn't show us that this was coming. This is the result of historic underinvestment and the direct result of policy choices historically and policy decisions that we continue to make to this day. I am in Alabama. We are one of just 10 States that has not acted on the common wisdom of expanding Medicaid, and that is exacerbating the issues that we have from a healthcare standpoint. We haven't expanded Medicaid. This is in a State that for all intents and purposes has pretty much the lowest life expectancy in America.”
“Just while I was running for office, we saw at least four shutter. We are on pace in my district alone to see every single hospital close within the next several years that are not located pretty much in just Mobile or Montgomery. That is unacceptable because it creates conditions that make it tougher for Black people to be able to receive care, for all people to be able to receive care. The disparities in access we know are well documented, so we know that that burden will disproportionately hit the African-American community. This is places that have contributed so much to this Nation, places like Tuskegee, Alabama, that gave us so much, places like Troy, Alabama, that gave us John Lewis, places like Montgomery, Alabama, where their largest hospital is in bankruptcy right now.”
“We are seeing across the State of Alabama, particularly in our rural counties, which if you know anything about the South, those rural counties in the South typically have higher Black populations, going back to the historical role and the historical place that they were for slavery, and the descendants stayed there. We are seeing hospitals in these rural communities shut down. This leads to cuts in just general healthcare services, and they create healthcare deserts, forcing folks to drive in some cases, literally, hours for basic care, in some cases well over an hour to be able to get to a hospital. Just in my home State alone, in this district that I ran in, we saw several hospitals close just across the 13 counties that compose my district, just while I was running for office.”
“Too often, they live miles from the nearest hospital or clinic, particularly in these rural areas, these rural parts of America, where we are seeing hospitals closed. We are seeing them shut down. We are seeing it more difficult for them to even access basic care. We see in places across Alabama where maternal mortality rates for Black women are more than double that of White women. I am proud to be from the State of Alabama, but I am not proud of all of its health statistics. In fact, I am not proud of most of them. Alabama is America's worst State for maternal mortality. More women die after childbirth in the State of Alabama than anywhere else in America, period. That is not just Black women, that is women in general. The disparity for Black women is alarming, more alarming in that context. It is just unacceptable.”
“I subscribe to the notion that no one should be left without access to a doctor, a hospital, or an ambulance simply because of where they are from. The disparities should not be as drastic as they are for people of color. Yet, in places like Barbour County and Washington County and Conecuh County across my district, the data tells the devastating story about who has access to care and who has historically been left behind. I know this is not just unique to Alabama. We see it in South Carolina. We see it in Massachusetts, as my colleague just spoke about. We see it in Mississippi, Georgia, and other places as well, where Black residents face higher rates of those chronic, preventable diseases and illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. They suffer disproportionately from things like stroke and heart attack.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on an urgent issue that affects the health, well-being, and prosperity of Black families, not just across the State of Alabama that I call home, but across this country, the staggering healthcare disparities that persist across this country and across too many counties in districts like mine, the Second Congressional District of Alabama. Let me be clear at the outset: I do not subscribe to the notion that healthcare is a luxury, that healthcare should be available to those who can afford it, that healthcare should be dependent on where you come from, where you were born, the ZIP Code that you reside in. I believe that healthcare is a basic human right. We know Jesus gave it for free.”