The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must immediately provide disaster assistance for Florida agricultural producers affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, urged U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), and the entire Florida delegation.
“Agriculture is such an important part of Florida’s 15th District, and after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, our farmers and producers need our support,” Rep. Lee said. “I am urging the USDA to quickly take action and deliver aid to our agriculture producers in Florida who were affected by these disasters so they can get back to feeding America.”
Rep. Cammack pointed out that when Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region, her colleagues to the south were quick to jump in and support efforts in her district as the recovery process began.
“And I’ll be here to do the same with Hurricane Milton in south and central Florida,” she said. “Agriculture is one of our state’s top industries and largest exports, and without it and all of the amazing people who work to feed, clothe, and fuel our state, we’d simply never be the same.”
In an Oct. 29 letter sent by the representatives and the bipartisan, bicameral delegation, the lawmakers urged USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to utilize block grants to distribute aid to Florida and other specialty-crop states where a high volume of disaster program applications overwhelm local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices and delay assistance for producers.
The lawmakers also demanded that USDA enhance current FSA operations and improve staffing issues; provide a budgetary request to House and Senate Appropriations Committees to ensure Congress can appropriate adequate funding for disaster response; and discuss crop insurance reforms to help specialty crop producers recover in tandem with disaster aid, according to their letter.
In addition to Reps. Cammack and Lee, the letter was signed by 28 other Florida lawmakers, including Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).
To ensure USDA and Congress are equipped to provide adequate support for producers, they also asked Vilsack to respond to several questions and provide documents and information to them by Nov. 29, including a statement of agency policy for utilization of block grants within USDA disaster-based programs, and a document detailing calendar year 2024 losses up to Oct. 29, among others.