{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/advisory-usda-disaster-assistance-available-for-farms-impacted-by", "ADVISORY: USDA DISASTER ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR FARMS IMPACTED BY HURRICANE IRMA", "2017-11-15", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Sanford Bishop", "B000490", "bishop.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, in accordance with Section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, sent a letter this week designating 83 counties within the State of Georgia as primary disaster areas due to the impacts of Hurricane Irma.\n\u00a0\nThis primary designation includes Baker, Clay, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Grady, Lee, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Peach, Randolph, Seminole, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Taylor, Terrell, and Webster counties within the Second Congressional District of Georgia. Additionally, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Dougherty, Early, Quitman, Talbot counties were designated as contiguous disaster counties.\n\u00a0\n\u201cOn behalf of Middle and Southwest Georgia\u2019s agriculture community, I am grateful that USDA has appropriately responded to our plight,\u201d said Congressman Sanford Bishop. \u201cHaving access to programs and available resources will help our growers repair and rebuild their operations stronger following damage caused by Hurricane Irma, and will help ensure that Georgia\u2019s agriculture industry continues to help feed the world.\u201d\n\u00a0\nThe designation as a primary or contiguous disaster area opens up eligibility for certain types of disaster loan assistance. The main disaster assistance program triggered by these designations is consideration for low-interest emergency loans. These designations also trigger access to the Disaster Set-Aside (DSA) program, which enables producers with a direct loan from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to move one annual payment to the end of the loan if the producers are not able to make their payments on schedule.\n\u00a0\nBackground on USDA\u2019s disaster assistance programs can be found\u00a0here. A copy of Secretary Perdue\u2019s designation letter can be found\u00a0here. Any determinations concerning eligibility for any USDA programs will need to be made by USDA. Farmers can find contact information for their local USDA FSA Office\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/advisory-usda-disaster-assistance-available-for-farms-impacted-by"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7764350157231092, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}