releases: https://hayes.house.gov/press-releases?ID=3B77DB60-AF07-481E-A45D-70F63087F6F0
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://hayes.house.gov/press-releases?ID=3B77DB60-AF07-481E-A45D-70F63087F6F0 | Hayes Introduces the Helping America's Farmers Act to Assist Farmers Impacted by Disasters | 2024-12-11 | 2024 | 2024-12 | Democrat | House | CT | Jahana Hayes | H001081 | hayes.house.gov | hayes | https://hayes.house.gov/press-releases | scraper | WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) introduced the Helping America’s Famers Act, legislation which would authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide up to $10 billion in zero-interest loans to assist farms impacted by disasters. With this funding, USDA would be able to more quickly provide financial support to farmers in need in states where Federal Crop Insurance is unavailable or out of reach. Recipient farmers could use funds to account for crop or livestock losses, maintain employees, and make rent or mortgage payments. “Over the last several years, farmers in my district and across the country have more frequently experienced extreme weather events from unseasonable cold snaps to record flooding. Despite the growing need for federal disaster assistance for small farmers, USDA often lacks the funding necessary for recovery,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “The Helping America’s Farmers Act would provide USDA with the resources needed to quickly assist farmers in the aftermath of a disaster. This common sense approach allows farmers to focus on rebuilding without the fear of falling further into debt.” In addition to providing $10 billion to USDA to assist farmers directly, the Helping America’s Farmers Act directs the Secretary of Agriculture to prioritize states participating in USDA Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA), which helps agricultural producers manage financial risk through diversification, marketing, or natural resource conservation practices. Agricultural Management Assistance is available in 16 states where participation in the Federal Crop Insurance Program is historically low: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Since 2023, farmers in Connecticut have experienced crop losses in excess of $10.5 million due to extreme weather events. As a member of the Committee on Agriculture, Congresswoman Hayes has worked extensively to increase the federal safety net for farmers and producers. In June 2024, Congresswoman Hayes introduced the Save Our Small Farms Act to expand federal crop insurance by allowing small farms to better access crop insurance policies. | 1 | 2026-03-30T01:40:41Z | 2026-04-07T22:13:55Z |