Senator Clinton Pushes for Direct Payments to Farmers Recovering from Last Month's Hail Storm

July 15, 2008 - PRLog -- Washington, DC – Following on from her  visit  13 days ago with hail damaged growers and farmers, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Senate leadership today to take immediate action to help expedite the implementation of advance payments to farmers struggling to recover from last month’s hail storm.

Congress recently enacted a permanent disaster payment program in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the “Farm Bill”) to provide timely, direct payments in the wake of disasters such as the hail storm. Senator Clinton last week requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) make the program available as soon as possible to New York’s farmers as part of Governor Paterson’s request for federal aid which also includes disaster loans. However, the USDA has indicated that it may take several months to set up this critical program. To get these critical payments to growers as soon as possible, Senator Clinton today urged the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to include authority to direct the USDA to make advance disaster payments to New York’s farmers. Senator Clinton suggested this authority be included in an upcoming legislative package that the Senate Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over.

“The hail storm couldn’t have come at a worse time – it was a devastating blow to New York’s farmers, especially so late in this growing season. Advance disaster payments would be a critical tool in assisting our farmers who are now facing huge financial hurdles and we can not afford to wait months for the USDA to implement the program,” said Senator Clinton. “Congress authorized this program to act as an immediate resource in the event that a disaster like this was to happen. Congress can and should provide these interim payments so that our farmers can get the aid they need now.”

Senators Clinton and Schumer recently called on the USDA to quickly approve the Governor’s request for county by count disaster declarations for the New York counties across the state that were hit with large sized hail, high winds and excessive rain. The counties included in the Governor’s disaster assistance request are: Albany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Columbia, Dutchess, Erie, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Ulster, Wayne and Westchester Counties.

A copy of Senator Clinton’s letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee is below:


The Honorable Robert C. Byrd
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
S-131
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Thad Cochran
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
S-131
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Byrd and Ranking Member Cochran:

On June 16th, New York State was impacted by a significant hailstorm that devastated farmers across the state. Producers reported hail ranging in diameter of the size of a pea to half-dollar coins. Twenty-four New York counties were significantly impacted, with widespread damage to apples, other fruits and vegetables, and row crops. Farmers in these areas are in great need of assistance.

Due to the need to respond quickly to such disasters, Congress created a permanent disaster program recently enacted in The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. However, indications from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are that it will take many months to get the full program up and running. That is simply too long for many producers who were financially crippled by the hailstorm’s damage and cannot afford to wait on this critically-needed assistance.

However, utilizing advance disaster payments are another means in which we can get assistance out quickly to farmers in New York and in other areas where flooding and other weather-related disasters have recently occurred. The Secretary of Agriculture can make advance disaster payments to farmers before the permanent disaster program regulations are complete. Last week, I wrote to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer to urge him to use this authority.

It is my hope that Secretary Schafer will decide to utilize this options. If he does not, I believe that Congress should direct the USDA to take this action, which has the support of both the American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union. As you consider drafting a second stimulus package, I urge you to consider adding provisions to ensure prompt distribution of disaster payments to farmers in New York and across the country.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

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A Native of New York, Rena writes as a freelance speech writer, ghost writer, journalist, and poet. She has been represented by the Hearst Corporation, Conde Nast, and Random House.