Senate Democrats proposed a $16.7 billion disaster relief bill on Tuesday, hoping to break a deadlock over aid to Puerto Rico with a package that provides more money for hurricane and flood recovery on the mainland. During a House hearing, Farm Credit System leaders called for assistance to producers hit by hurricanes in the Southeast last fall and by flooding in the Midwest this spring.
“The time for federal disaster assistance is now,” said Paxton Poitevint, chief executive of Southwest Georgia Farm Credit. Floods in the northern Plains and western Corn Belt that began in mid-March caused significant damage, said Mark Jensen, chief executive of FCS of America/Frontier Farm Credit with headquarters in Omaha. “Clearly, it is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions.”
President Trump agreed recently to $600 million in additional food-stamp funds for Puerto Rico and used blistering words to oppose further increases. In a series of five posts on Twitter, he said the territory’s elected leaders were incompetent “& only take from USA…The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump…Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments and so little appreciation!”
Trump’s outburst followed defeat on Monday of two disaster packages, one drafted by Senate Republicans with only the $600 million for nutrition assistance for Puerto Rico, and the other a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled House that included the food stamp money plus additional funds for disaster recovery in Puerto Rico and in the rest of the nation. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reserved the right to call a new vote on the legislation and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley responded, “Absolutely,” when reporters asked if disaster aid could be revived.
“He can bring it up at any time and I’m sure he will,” said Grassley.
The largest U.S. farm group asked senators “to prioritize concern for our nation’s food producers.” President Zippy Duvall of the American Farm Bureau Federation said agricultural losses from wildfires, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes in 2018 and this year could total more than $8 billion. Food-stamp funding for Puerto Rico is crucial, said Duvall. “Farm Bureau urges U.S. senators to support farmers and ranchers and the rural communities impacted by these catastrophic weather events by moving past this political impasse.”
Farmers and rural communities would be eligible for $3.8 billion in assistance under the package proposed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Vermont Sen. Pat Leahy, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. The package is $2.5 billion larger than the $14.2 billion bill passed by the House. The additional money is aimed at this year’s disasters. “We cannot pick and choose which American citizens to help in time of crisis,” said Schumer and Leahy.
At a hearing on the rural economy, Jensen, the Farm Credit official, said, “It will take months to assess the damage but the need for assistance is immediate…We urge fast action.”
Natural disasters add to the burden farmers and ranchers carry from low commodity prices. “There is little room for error,” said Poitevint when asked about the financial outlook for Georgia farmers. With the planting season at hand, it is “a very critical time,” he said.
“While commodity prices always have been cyclical, due to the influence of weather and markets, the current economic downturn facing agriculture has been prolonged,” said Rod Hebring, chief executive of Compeer Financial, based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. “Arguably one of the greatest challenges right now is dairy.”
Subcommittee chairman Sanford Bishop said he hoped Congress would enact disaster aid soon. “Natural disasters across the country…have created stress and uncertainty on top of impacts from the ongoing tariff situation,” said the Georgia Democrat.
To watch a video of the House Appropriations hearing or to read statements by the witnesses, click here.
A summary of the Senate Democratic package is available here.