{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2024/12/sens-rick-scott-raphael-warnock-lead-bipartisan-effort-to-secure-immediate-agriculture-disaster-assistance-following-devastating-hurricane-season", "Sens. Rick Scott & Raphael Warnock Lead Bipartisan Effort to Secure Immediate Agriculture Disaster Assistance Following Devastating Hurricane Season", "2024-12-10", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "FL", "Rick Scott", "S001217", "www.rickscott.senate.gov", "rickscott", "https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/press-releases/", "page_html", "The bipartisan pair urged key Senate leaders to approve an agriculture supplemental disaster package that meets the needs of farmers and ranchers in Georgia and Florida after another costly hurricane season\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Senator Rick Scott and Senator Raphael Warnock urged Congressional leaders to approve an agriculture supplemental disaster package that meets the needs of farmers and ranchers in Florida and Georgia after two years of devastating natural disasters.\n\nThe lawmakers wrote, \u201c\u2026Both of our states have been heavily impacted by natural disasters over the last two years, leaving farmers and ranchers with decimated crops and wrangled infrastructure. Most recently, Georgia\u2019s cotton, pecan, and timber crops were flattened by Hurricane Helene, and Florida\u2019s citrus and vegetable crops were devastated after Hurricane Milton.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers continued, \u201cWe also ask that you consider structuring a portion of this funding in the form of state block grants to ensure our states\u2019 Departments of Agriculture flexibility in efforts to assist our farmers and ranchers, including our specialty crop and timber producers.\u201d\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\nMORE\u2026\n\nIn addition to this supplemental, Senator Scott has been fighting to secure USDA block grants for Florida\u2019s farmers, ranchers and growers to aid in their recovery and support the state\u2019s agriculture industry since Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida in 2022 and caused significant agriculture losses. Following Hurricane Helene, Senator Scott led a bipartisan group of his Florida delegation colleagues in a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack supporting the State of Florida\u2019s request to issue a Disaster Declaration for Florida\u2019s counties that were impacted by Hurricane Helene and make assistance available immediately in the form of state block grants to expedite support for Florida\u2019s farmers and agricultural producers as they recover from the destructive impacts of the storms. Read more HERE. Senator Scott spoke to President Biden and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack about the importance of USDA block grants during their meeting after Hurricane Helene in Keaton Beach on October 3. He stressed the importance of block grants again in his call with President Biden on October 10 and in his meeting with the president in St. Pete Beach on October 13.\n\nSenator Scott is leading the call for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to fund disaster relief. Earlier this Congress, Senator Scott announced a bill with Senator Rubio to provide $20 billion for FEMA\u2019s Disaster Relief Fund to ensure the agency has what it needs to provide immediate aid to communities.\n\nSenator Scott encourages all Floridians to visit his website at www.rickscott.senate.gov/contact/casework for information or help with federal agencies like FEMA and the SBA, following Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Find more on state response efforts from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.org or @FLSERT.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-03-30T11:08:25Z"]], "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.rickscott.senate.gov/2024/12/sens-rick-scott-raphael-warnock-lead-bipartisan-effort-to-secure-immediate-agriculture-disaster-assistance-following-devastating-hurricane-season"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0799616575241089, "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"}