{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1547", "Congressman Valadao Introduces Supplemental Appropriations Bill to Assist Ag Producers Impacted by Natural Disasters", "2024-09-27", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "CA", "David G. Valadao", "V000129", "valadao.house.gov", "valadao", "https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Reps. David G. Valadao (CA-22) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) introduced the Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The bill provides an additional $14 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assist agriculture producers impacted by losses caused by natural disasters in 2023.\n\n\u201cNatural disasters like drought and flooding have caused devastating losses for Central Valley producers over the last two years,\u201d said Congressman Valadao. \u201cThese extreme weather events negatively affect the security of our nation\u2019s food supply, prices for consumers, and jobs throughout our community. My legislation provides USDA with the funding necessary to assist farmers in California and across the country who have been impacted by natural disasters. Producers in the Central Valley have had a difficult and uncertain couple of years, and I\u2019ll continue working to ensure they have the resources and support they need to grow the food that feeds the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur farmers and ranchers have been getting hammered with severe weather, significant flooding, smoke damage, and steep prices, which have all led to serious setbacks this season,\u201d said Rep. Panetta. \u201cThe bipartisan Agriculture Disaster Supplemental Appropriations Act would allow the federal government to provide reasonable assistance as necessary for those in our agricultural industry to recover and continue moving forward. This bill is the least that Congress can do to ensure that the federal government plays its part to help those who help put food on our tables.\"\n\nReps. Valadao and Panetta were joined in introduction by Reps. John Duarte (R-CA), Jim Costa, (D-CA), Vince Fong (R-CA), Jake LaTurner (R-KS), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Marc Molinaro (R-NY), Mike Thompson, and Josh Harder (D-CA).\n\nThe legislation is supported by American Farm Bureau, California Farm Bureau, Western Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation, Milk Producers Council, California Dairies, Inc., Napa Valley Vinters, California Tomato Growers Association, Almond Alliance, and the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.\n\n\u201cCalifornians have faced a unique and broad range of disasters across the state in recent years\u2014including floods, drought and wildfires. Unfortunately, only a quarter of the roughly 400 commodities grown in California are covered by a direct crop insurance program, meaning thousands of farmers are unable to access critical risk management tools to recover from disasters. This has led to our reliance on resources such as the Emergency Relief Program, which is currently oversubscribed and underfunded. We are appreciative of the attention and leadership Rep. Valadao, Rep. Panetta and others have shown in addressing this shortfall by introducing this supplemental appropriations bill,\u201d said California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass.\n\n\u201cCalifornia dairy farm families suffered last year from major storms and flooding that displaced families and their cows while also damaging feed supplies farmers had worked hard to store. We are grateful to Rep. Valadao for consistently championing the needs of California's dairy farmers. His bipartisan agricultural disaster supplemental funding package, cosponsored by Reps. Panetta, Fong, and Costa, will ensure that Central Valley dairy families finally recover what they lost well over a year ago,\u201d said Gregg Doud, president and CEO, National Milk Producers Federation\n\n\u201cIt has been nearly two years since California growers suffered major losses due to flooding and related natural disasters, which affected many rural communities,\u201d said Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers. \u201cThis bipartisan bill ensures sufficient funding and a strong delivery program to finally address all those impacted in 2023. Western Growers supports the Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and we urge Congress to pass this bill to deliver relief to our farmers and their communities as soon as possible.\u201d\n\n\"On behalf of California's almond industry, the Almond Alliance strongly supports the bipartisan Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act introduced by Congressman David G. Valadao and Congressman Jimmy Panetta. Farmers across the nation, including our almond growers, faced significant losses in 2023 due to floods, droughts, wildfires, and other natural disasters that threaten the agricultural sector and the economic stability of rural communities, and our nation's food security. This bill provides $14 billion in disaster relief, ensuring farmers can recover and continue feeding domestic and global markets. We urge swift passage of this legislation to protect American agriculture and the communities that depend on it,\" said Blake Vann, Chairman, Almond Alliance.\n\n\u201cThe board of Directors at Milk Producers Council appreciates the bipartisan support of well needed assistance due to substantial losses encountered due to climate variability,\u201d said Kevin Abernathy, General Manager, Milk Producers Council.\n\nCongressman Valadao has worked to ensure producers impacted by the 2023 atmospheric rivers and flooding in California have the resources they need to recoup losses. Last year, he introduced the Emergency Assistance for Dairy Producers Act to make Commodity Credit Corporation emergency assistance funds available for dairy producers. He also questioned Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack on disaster relief for Central Valley dairy producers during a House Appropriations Committee hearing this year to raise concerns over the distribution of disaster assistance for dairy producers.\n\nBackground:\n\nIn 2023, farmers and producers across the United States experienced significant agricultural losses due to natural disasters including floods, hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, wildfires, and weather-related pest damages. These disasters have severely affected crop and livestock production and continue to jeopardize our nation\u2019s food security and the economic stability of our rural communities.\n\nThe Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act:\n\nAppropriates $14 billion to the Office of the Secretary for Agriculture for necessary expenses related to 2023 disasters.\n\nIncludes a $1.5 billion carveout for livestock losses and provides expanded assistance to livestock producers, including relocation of livestock, feed crop losses, and shelter-in-place procedures.\n\nCovers quality loss from smoke-tainted wine grapes due to wildfire.\n\nIncludes additional provisions modeled after the 2021 Emergency Relief Program and the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 covering the definition of drought, direct payments to producers, payment limitations, crop insurance requirements, etc.\n\nIncludes a new provision to ensure payments are administered simultaneously for all producers, regardless of type of qualified loss.\n\nRead the full text of the bill here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "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://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1547"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8134730160236359, "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"}