Senator Warnock Joins Bipartisan, Bicameral Push for Agricultural Disaster Relief Funding Following Hurricane Helene

Senator Reverend Warnock is a key member of the Senate Agriculture committee and longtime champion of Georgia's agriculture community

Senator Reverend Warnock is urging congressional leadership to ensure disaster relief resources are made available to agricultural producers following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene

Senator Reverend Warnock has previously pushed Congress to approve additional disaster relief for Georgia's farmers

Senator Reverend Warnock and lawmakers: "To prevent deep and lasting economic damage to the agricultural industry in the southeastern United States, it is imperative that Congress make appropriations as soon as possible upon the completion of damage assessments to fully fund unmet agricultural disaster relief needs in our states and across the nation"

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a key member of the Senate Agriculture committee, joined 34 of his colleagues in a bipartisan, bicameral effort to push Congressional leaders to approve urgent disaster relief funding that will help prevent deep and lasting economic damage to the agricultural industry in the southeastern United States following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Last week, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a devastating Category 4 hurricane before making its way through Georgia and downgrading to a tropical storm affecting South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee-with deep, disastrous impacts across agricultural sectors. In a new letter led by U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and U.S. Representative Austin Scott (R-GA-08), Senator Warnock and a bipartisan group of lawmakers representing southeastern U.S. states urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to work with Congress and the Biden Administration to ensure disaster relief resources are made available to agricultural producers following the damaging impacts of Hurricane Helene to the state's crops and livestock.

"To prevent deep and lasting economic damage to the agricultural industry in the southeastern United States, it is imperative that Congress make appropriations as soon as possible upon the completion of damage assessments to fully fund unmet agricultural disaster relief needs in our states and across the nation," Senator Warnock and colleagues wrote to congressional leadership. "Farmers and growers nationwide, not only those damaged by Helene, have now faced multiple growing seasons without sufficient federal support. Our constituents are counting on us to act swiftly."

Warnock, Ossoff and Scott were joined in their letter by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and U.S. Representatives Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-01), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02), Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03), Hank Johnson (D-GA-04), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Rich McCormick (R-GA-06), Lucy McBath (D-GA-07), Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09), Mike Collins (R-GA-10), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11), Rick Allen (R-GA-12), David Scott (D-GA-13), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23), Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03), Don Davis (D-NC-01), Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), Greg Murphy (R-NC-03), Kathy Manning (D-NC-06), Dan Bishop (R-NC-08), Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11), Alma Adams (D-NC-12) Wiley Nickel (D-NC-13), Jeff Jackson (D-NC-14), and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01).

"Federal agricultural disaster assistance is essential to help our states and our Nation recover. We urge you to work with the administration to ensure disaster relief resources are made available to our growers. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to working with you to secure these critical resources," Senator Warnock and the lawmakers continued.

Senator Warnock has been a vocal proponent for additional disaster aid and resources for Georgia's farmers. Prior to Hurricane Helene, Senator Warnock pushed the Biden Administration to support Georgia's agricultural industry following natural disasters, including urging the Administration to provide funding for agricultural disaster assistance in the President's supplemental appropriations requests to Congress, noting the particular impact of Hurricane Idalia and the early freeze in March 2023 on Georgia's key agricultural industries. Following Hurricane Idalia, Senator Warnock also successfully passed legislation strengthening funding for Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Small Business Administration to address storm damage. In December 2023, Senator Warnock traveled to Albany and joined local growers on a pecan farm damaged by severe storms to highlight his commitment to South Georgia farmers-including his focus on securing federal disaster assistance to Georgia farmers impacted by these storms, and protecting permanent disaster assistance to provide relief following future natural disasters and stronger storms. The Senator has also championed improving safety net programs for Georgia's specialty crops and securing federal relief for producers following natural disasters, previously introducing the bipartisan Protecting America's Orchardists and Nursery Tree Growers Act to reform the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) so it will work more efficiently, improve margins for producers, and help them compete with foreign imports. In 2021, Senator Warnock joined Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to introduce legislation that will help America's landowners recover from the loss of timber after natural disasters; the Disaster Reforestation Act improves the tax code to allow forest owners to deduct the value of their timber prior to the loss caused by a natural disaster.

Read the bipartisan, bicameral letter HERE.

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