Bishop Responds to USDA 2009 Disaster Assistance

Washington, DC – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement on the USDA announcement this week of the USDA 2009 Disaster Assistance program, which exclusively covers upland cotton, rice, soybeans, and sweet potatoes.

“We all appreciate Senator Lincoln’s work on this issue and her attempt to provide disaster assistance for farmers. We never would have gotten this far in moving forward with assistance if it weren’t for her hard work.”

“However, we understood that the Administration made a commitment to cover all of the provisions in Lincoln’s disaster package, and clearly the assistance announced Wednesday does not live up to that commitment. It is unacceptable that any assistance be limited to a few commodities, and based on emergency declarations resulting only from floods or excessive rain.”

“The Second Congressional District has a variety of producers, especially peanut and specialty crop producers, who are very disappointed with this final package. A disaster is a disaster, and when one hits it doesn’t just impact one or two crops – it impacts all crops.”

“I plan to continue to work with the leadership and administration to work towards an equitable resolution of this important matter.”

###