From time to time my office distributes press releases and written statements on state and national issues, debate in the Senate, and legislation that I am working on. For your convenience, I post these documents on my site for your review.
 print |  email |
|
Sen. Sessions Urges USDA to Release Special Funds to Assist Alabama Farmers
The funds, referred to as Section 32 Program Funds, are part of a large congressional appropriation that the USDA receives each year. The Secretary of Agriculture has broad discretion to allocate the funds, which have been released for a wide variety of purposes in the past.
In a recent letter to USDA Sec. Mike Johanns, Sessions requested that the secretary release the Section 32 Program Funds at his disposal to provide immediate assistance to cattlemen, timber growers and commodity farmers in Alabama.
“Alabama is in the midst of an unprecedented drought. Our entire state has been declared a disaster area, which is critical to making low-interest loans available. Many farmers and cattlemen have expressed concerns to me that loans by themselves may be insufficient to address the widespread losses they have suffered over the last two years,” Sessions said. “This agricultural disaster in Alabama should be a priority for the USDA, and if they have discretionary funds available, they ought to put them to good use assisting farmers who are suffering through the worst drought in the country.”
In a separate letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Sessions requested that the committee provide $10 million in disaster aid to Alabama through the Emergency Conservation Program to rehabilitate drought-ravaged pastures and $7 million through the Livestock Assistance Program to provide direct payments to eligible livestock producers who suffered grazing losses.
Sessions suggested that Congress tap into unallocated Section 32 funds to provide the assistance, citing prior instances when the funds have been used for aid to hog producers, cattle, lamb, and buffalo producers in other states.
The letter to the appropriators also requested that the eligibility date for assistance under a recently passed supplemental appropriations bill be modified so that farmers who lost crops during this year’s Easter frost are eligible for aid provided by that legislation.
Any assistance provided as a result of Sessions’ requests would be in addition to financial assistance made available through the disaster declaration process or emergency supplemental appropriations bills.
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and each member of Alabama’s House of Representatives delegation joined Sessions in his requests.
|
|
||||||
 |
You will need to have Real One Player installed on your computer to be able to listen or watch the clips above. Real One Player is free software that lets you play audio and video files. Download Real One Player |