From August 08, 2022 post.
This week, Reps. Cindy Axne (IA-03), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Jim Costa (CA-16), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), and 17 members introduced legislation to reauthorize the Emergency Relief Program (formerly known as WHIP+) for natural disasters that occurred in 2022. The ERP offers critical assistance to Iowa farmers impacted by natural disasters in 2020 and 2021, including the 2020 derecho.
“Iowa farmers know all too well how common and devastating natural disasters have been,” said Rep. Axne. “The Emergency Relief Program, which I fought hard for, has provided assistance to thousands of Iowan farmers who suffered from the 2020 derecho. By reauthorizing the Emergency Relief Program for 2022, this bill provides certainty to farmers that should disaster strike, assistance will be ready.”
“Communities in our district and across the country have been devastated by natural disasters, including wildfires and drought,” said Rep. Thompson. “That’s why I am proud to work with a bipartisan group of my colleagues to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Emergency Relief Program. This program is an essential support system for our growers to recover from wildfires, smoke damage, and other natural disasters. As we continue to deal with the impact of climate change, I am committed to ensuring that all producers and growers have the resources they need to offset their losses.
“The Emergency Relief Program is a necessary resource for Central Washington farmers as they continue to recover from this year’s late spring, which significantly impacted tree fruit production. I am pleased to introduce this legislation and encourage my colleagues to support this important program that will provide much-needed assistance to Central Washington’s growers so they can continue producing the high-quality Washington crops Americans enjoy for many years to come,” said Rep. Newhouse.
“The Emergency Relief Program is critical to farmers in my district, providing them the assistance they need to recover from the ongoing impacts of the drought and wildfires,” said Rep. Costa. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to provide much-needed relief to California farmers and ranchers. Supporting and advocating for California agriculture has always been one of my highest priorities, representing California as the number one agricultural state in the nation.”
ERP is a vital program that provides desperately needed payments to agricultural producers to offset losses from wildfires, drought, hurricanes, derechos, freeze, polar vortex, excessive heat and other qualifying natural disasters.
USDA announced last week that it has processed 255,000 applications for the new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and made approximately $6.1 billion in payments to date. That includes more than 20,000 applications from Iowa totaling over $380 million.
Rep. Axne broke with her party to vote for expanding eligibility of disaster relief programs to include losses from the derecho that hit Iowa on August 10, 2020 and caused widespread damage. Rep. Axne joined Secretary Vilsack last month for an event where they touted the success of the program. Since the event, the USDA has indefinitely extended the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the ERP.
This relief is critical as prolonged drought, severe weather events and natural disasters continue to wreak havoc on crops and livestock.
This bill is endorsed by the National Farmers Union.
Original source can be found here
