{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://buchanan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/buchanan-leads-talks-disaster-aid", "Buchanan Leads Talks on Disaster Aid", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Vern Buchanan", "B001260", "buchanan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "SHOCK FORECAST: Worst Orange Crop in 73 Years!\u00a0\nWASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013\u00a0As Florida faces the worst orange crop since 1944, Congressman\u00a0Vern Buchanan led a meeting of nearly 30 bipartisan members of the Florida and Texas congressional delegations\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0on the need to secure increased disaster relief funding for the two hurricane-ravaged states.\u00a0\n\u201cCitrus growers are facing their\u00a0lowest\u00a0production\u00a0since Franklin Roosevelt\u00a0was president,\u201d Buchanan said, citing a newly released forecast by the U.S. Agriculture Department.\u00a0\u201cCongress needs to act quickly and pass significant disaster relief for growers battered by Hurricane Irma and citrus greening.\u201d\u00a0\nThe latest USDA forecast predicts Florida will produce 46 million boxes of oranges for the 2017-2018 season, down more than\u00a080 percent since peak production of 244 million boxes during the 1997-1998 season.\u00a0In October, the Florida Department of Agriculture announced that Florida citrus sustained more than $760 million in damages due to the hurricane, but those numbers are only expected to grow.\nThe Florida and Texas delegations recently sent a\u00a0letter\u00a0to congressional leadership making clear that the Trump administration\u2019s latest request for post-hurricane aid was inadequate.\u00a0Buchanan co-chairs the Florida delegation.\nBuchanan has also received assurances that his legislation to help citrus growers recover from crippling losses\u00a0will be included in\u00a0an upcoming hurricane relief package.\u00a0His bill, the bipartisan\u00a0Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act, has been\u00a0co-sponsored by every\u00a0member\u00a0of Florida's 29-member congressional delegation in both the U.S. House and Senate.\u00a0\nThe measure would make it less costly for growers to replace trees damaged by Hurricane Irma or citrus greening. The bill provides tax incentives for farmers who cannot afford to replace damaged trees.\nExperts estimate a 50 to 70 percent crop loss in Florida from Hurricane Irma. Citrus growers are experiencing up to 90 percent losses in some places.\nBuchanan is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax legislation.", 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://buchanan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/buchanan-leads-talks-disaster-aid"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4203500468283892, "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"}