{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://taylor.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-taylor-introduces-pro-farmer-bill-improving-drought-monitoring", "Congressman Taylor Introduces Pro-Farmer Bill Improving Drought Monitoring", "2025-09-25", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "House", "OH", "David J. Taylor", "T000490", "taylor.house.gov", "taylor", "https://taylor.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Dave Taylor (OH-02) today introduced the Improving Drought Monitoring Act, which will reauthorize the United States Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) \u201cImprovements to the Drought Monitor\u201d program and establish a Drought Monitor Interagency Working Group within it. This new working group would draft a report assessing and recommending tangible ways to improve the availability of consistent, accurate, and reliable data in the Drought Monitor.\n\nThis bill is critical for ensuring the U.S. Drought Monitor remains a source of highly accurate and reliable data for farmers and provides accurate eligibility for federal assistance programs in the case of severe drought. With southern Ohio experiencing unusually high temperatures in the past few summer months, farmers are currently experiencing dry conditions and depend on Drought Monitor data now more than ever. Farmers and other businesses additionally use the Drought Monitor to make other business decisions, such as planting, spraying, or cattle management, further highlighting the importance of its accuracy.\n\n\u201cLast year\u2019s devastating drought wiped out months of hard work by Ohio farmers and made it harder for Buckeye families to put food on their tables,\u201d said Congressman Taylor. \u201cFarmers in Ohio and across our Nation trust the U.S. Drought Monitor to contain the most accurate and reliable data, which is exactly why continued improvements to it are essential. I\u2019m proud to be part of the solution to ensure farmers have the accurate data they need to prepare for severe conditions and thrive in our region, and urge Congress to include my bill in the upcoming Farm Bill.\u201d\n\n\u201cOhio\u2019s grain farmers took a hard hit during last year\u2019s drought. We can\u2019t control the weather, but we can work to ensure disaster response systems work effectively to meet the needs of family farms. Congressman Taylor\u2019s proposal is a step in that direction and I am pleased to offer the support of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association,\u201d said Executive Director Tadd Nicholson.\n\nEstablished in 1999 as a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the USDA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Drought Monitor releases weekly maps that help determine drought relief for multiple USDA programs. The \u201cImprovements to the Drought Monitor\u201d program operated by USDA helps to make improvements in the Drought Monitor, ensuring that farmers have accurate and reliable data, maps, and information about drought impacts in their region.\n\nThis program authorizes $5 million of federal funds toward improving drought monitoring services for farmers and requires reauthorization through the Farm Bill. Since this program was extended in last year\u2019s House Farm Bill (Sec. 12406) along with the 2018 Farm Bill, which covered programs between 2019 to 2023, it will expire unless Congress passes another Farm Bill or Farm Bill extension.\n\nSpecifically, the Improving Drought Monitoring Act would:\n\nReauthorize the \u201cImprovements to the Drought Monitor\u201d program through 2030;\n\nEstablish a Drought Monitor Interagency Working Group to draft a report analyzing and subsequently suggesting ways to improve the availability of consistent, accurate, and reliable data in the Drought Monitor;\n\nRequire the working group to submit recommendations for improvements to appropriate Committees and/or Agencies, directing them to incorporate the recommendations to the largest extent possible, and;\n\nRequire the Farm Service Agency and the Forest Service to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to better align drought response activities and ensure the best service for American farmers.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "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://taylor.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-taylor-introduces-pro-farmer-bill-improving-drought-monitoring"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.214867854490876, "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"}