CONGRESSMAN BISHOP SUPPORTS BIPARTISAN BILL THAT KEEPS GOVERNMENT OPEN, PROVIDES DISASTER RELIEF, EXTENDS FARM BILL, & DELIVERS ECONOMIC AID TO FARMERS

WASHINGTON – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., (GA-02) a senior member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and member of the House Agriculture Committee, supported the passage of a bipartisan bill that provides continued funding for federal departments, agencies, and programs as well as an extension of Farm Bill programs. The bill also includes urgently needed disaster relief for Americans as well as $10 billion in long overdue economic aid for farmers. This morning President Biden signed the bill into law.

“While it is not a perfect bill, I am happy that Democrats and Republicans, in the end, were able to come together in the best interests of the American people,” said Congressman Bishop. “It is our Constitutional duty as Members of Congress to ensure that the government is open and working for the people. Additionally, this bill provides billions in supplemental economic aid for farmers and extends vital Farm Bill programs that affect every-single American from the materials that help build our country to the clothes we wear to the food we eat. Finally, this bill delivers urgently needed recovery aid, now, to Americans still reeling from natural disasters across the country.”

Had the temporary funding bill not passed, it would have triggered a government shutdown of federal departments, agencies, and programs that would have hindered a wide range of services – from national security to veterans, from healthcare to housing, and from Social Security and Medicare to nutrition – on which millions of Americans depend.

Passage of this temporary funding bill also provided $100 billion for disaster assistance to help communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton as well as other storms, floods, and wildfires.

Congressman Bishop, along with Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08), led a bipartisan group of their Congressional colleagues and joined with Georgia State leaders – the Governor, Ag Commissioner, State Forester, University of Georgia, and state industry partners – and their counterparts from other affected states, to expedite the federal emergency response to these recent natural disasters.

Working together, Bishop and Scott invited Congressional leaders to see, first-hand, why disaster relief and the Farm Bill safety net are vital to Georgia’s and America’s farmers and producers.

Hurricane Helene affected every commodity that Georgia produces.

• Over 36% of Georgia’s forest land was damaged and timber landowners lost $1.3 billion in downed trees.
• Cotton producers sustained $350 million in crop production and quality losses.
• Pecan growers lost nearly 400,000 trees, totaling over $196.8 million in tree and nut losses.
• Chicken growers and cattlemen sustained $650 million in direct losses to facilities like chicken houses, barns, water tanks, and shelters.

All told, University of Georgia estimates that the hurricane caused at least $2.5 billion in direct damages to agriculture and forestry. If you add in the indirect loses to manufacturers, sawmills, input suppliers, and other industries that support our farmers and ranchers – the damage is closer to $6 billion.

The bill includes $674 million in economic and disaster relief for Georgia agriculture as well as $1.6 billion in funding that Thomas County, Richmond County, McDuffie County, Laurens County, and the entire state need to recover after losing lives and property due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Congress has yet to complete a new, five-year authorization of the Farm Bill. Negotiations are ongoing and the current, 2018 Farm Bill was already extended at the end of 2023 to the end of 2024. The temporary funding bill also extended the 2018 Farm Bill provisions for another year while negotiations continue.

Had the Farm Bill extension not passed, it would have jeopardized the economic safety net that Georgia farmers rely on to produce the highest quality, most affordable and abundant, food and fiber.

For some time now, Congressman Bishop has been fighting to secure supplemental economic assistance for farmers who have experienced extraordinary financial stress due to increases in their input costs and decreases in their income margins over the last several years.

The $10 billion in economic assistance included in the temporary funding bill will help farmers until a new Farm Bill is finalized.

“Thankfully, a bipartisan agreement was reached, putting the needs of people over politics,” said Congressman Bishop. “But our work is not done, and I look forward negotiating with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to complete a full-year funding bill before the new March deadline as well as finalize and pass the Farm Bill as quickly as possible.”

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