Durbin Calls for Meeting with President Bush to Discuss Emergency Agriculture Assistance
DURBIN CALLS FOR MEETING WITH PRESIDENT BUSH TO DISCUSS EMERGENCY AGRICULTURE ASSISTANCE
In a bipartisan letter sent today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) along with seventeen other members of the Senate, called for a meeting with the President to discuss emergency agriculture disaster assistance for struggling farmers and ranchers in rural America.
"Farmers and ranchers around the United States have faced serious challenges over the last two years from weather-related natural disasters," Durbin and the others wrote. "We, along with many of our colleagues in Congress, have been working for two years to secure emergency assistance for agricultural producers who have experienced serious losses due to circumstances that are beyond their control."
Durbin said, the average Illinois farmer with a 1,000 acre farm is paying $24,000 more than he or she did in 2001 to operate. This 30 percent increase in costs is a direct result of higher gas prices which have led to higher fuel, fertilizer and pesticide costs for farmers across the state. The agriculture assistance called for by Durbin and other lawmakers will help local farmers deal with the daily cost of running a farm.
Durbin is also a co-sponsor of S. 284, the Emergency Disaster Assistance Act of 2007 which, would provide $4.4 billion in emergency funding to farmers and ranchers who have suffered weather-related crop production shortfalls, quality losses and damage to livestock feed supplies.
Durbin was joined on the letter by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Kit Bond (R-MO), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Max Baucus (D-MT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Tester (D-MT), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Clare McCaskill (D-MO), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).
Full text of the letter appears below:
January 30, 2007
The President
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to request a meeting with you to discuss the urgent need for agricultural disaster assistance in rural America.
Farmers and ranchers around the United States have faced serious challenges over the last two years from weather-related natural disasters including drought, flood, wildfires, frost, and disease. Excessive rainfall and flooding in 2005 caused millions of acres of farmland to go unplanted and washed away millions of additional acres. A severe drought last summer plagued the United States, leaving fields of crops and forage as dry and barren as a moonscape. And serious snowstorms this winter have killed tens of thousands of cattle.
Although the vast majority of the producers we represent carry crop insurance to help them manage the risks inherent in agriculture, crop insurance was never designed to cover repeated years of devastating weather or livestock losses sustained by ranchers. As a result, many farm and ranch families badly need an agricultural disaster relief package if they are to stay on the land.
This country has always acted to help those affected by disasters. We, along with many of our colleagues in Congress, have been working for two years to secure emergency assistance for agricultural producers who have experienced serious losses due to circumstances that are beyond their control. You have not been supportive of our efforts over the past two years, but we believe that after hearing about some of the hardworking farmers and ranchers who have faced devastating weather conditions, you will help us in providing desperately needed assistance for agriculture producers across the country.
We look forward to the opportunity to discuss this important issue with you and we hope you will be willing to meet with us when your schedule allows.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=268142&&