{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.justice.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-justice-blunt-rochester-introduce-the-flood-act/", "Senators Justice, Blunt Rochester Introduce the FLOOD\u00a0Act", "2026-07-27", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "WV", "James C. Justice", "J000312", "www.justice.senate.gov", "justice", "https://www.justice.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Recently, Senator Jim Justice and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) introduced the bipartisan Farmers Lifeline Options for Overcoming Disasters (FLOOD) Act to help farmers and rural communities have more resources to combat natural disasters.\n\n\u201cWest Virginia knows all too well the devastation that flooding can bring \u2013 tearing through communities, damaging homes, threatening farmers\u2019 livelihoods, and leaving families picking up the pieces. Farmers contend with the weather every day and face threats from natural disasters every year \u2013 putting their operations and way of life at risk. I\u2019m proud to join this legislation to help make sure that there are tools and resources available to safeguard lives, farms, and other property in watersheds from natural disasters, including floods,\u201d said Senator Jim Justice.\n\n\u201cAs the lowest lying state in the nation, Delawareans know the risk of flooding all too well. Our farming communities are key to both our culture and economy. Which is why I\u2019m proud to introduce the FLOOD Act to ensure farmers in the First State and across the country have the resources they need to protect their properties, their crops, and their livelihoods,\u201d said Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.\n\nBACKGROUND:\n\nThe FLOOD Act will:\n\nDefine the USDA\u2019s Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program as a covered program under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).\n\nIncrease access, ease, and reliability for rural and farming communities seeking relief, and reduce the impacts of flooding on farms.\n\nAllow for the purchase of voluntary easements in areas of high flood risk before a flood occurs.\n\nThese easements will restore, enhance, or maintain native habitat or allow for the cultivation of flood-compatible crops.\n\nSenator Justice is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and has years of experience working on his family farm.\n\nRead the bill text HERE.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-07-28T07:37:32Z", "2026-07-28T07:38:50Z"]], "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://www.justice.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-justice-blunt-rochester-introduce-the-flood-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.121908124536276, "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"}