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| October 4th, 2007 |
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Media Contact(s): Heather Barney (801) 524-3341
Jared Whitley (202) 224-5251 |
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Printable Version |
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HATCH PRAISES PASSAGE OF PERMANENT DISASTER FUND FOR FARMERS
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Washington - Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, today hailed the committee’s approval of a Permanent Agriculture Disaster Fund that, if enacted, would provide greater dependability, equitability and reliability to Utah’s agriculture producers. He also praised Committee Chairman Max Baucus for accepting a Hatch amendment to boost the money set aside in the fund for livestock producers by $15 million annually.
Hatch expressed strong support for the creation of a permanent weather-related disaster fund that would alleviate the circus of ad hoc disaster bills year after year. When farmers suffer disasters they need a stable and reliable process to recover their losses and stay in production.
“I support family farmers and ranchers and this fund will give them greater assurance that even under extreme weather conditions, they will be able to continue to grow the food, fiber and energy we need to keep America strong.”
Since 1998, Congress approved 23 separate ad hoc disaster assistance packages totaling $47 billion. With passage of each congressional bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture must develop and administer these separate programs and producers who have suffered losses often wait years for the remedy that will allow them to stay in business. This permanent fund will streamline and expedite this process and help cover losses not currently covered by crop insurance.
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