A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pleading with Congress to pass some sort of disaster relief for the agricultural sector in states ravaged by Hurricane Helene.
In a letter sent to congressional leaders Tuesday, 33 lawmakers urged the top lawmakers to pass an appropriations package “as soon as possible” to address the agricultural damage caused by the storm. The letter includes signatories from both parties, stretching across the ideological spectrum from firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) to left-wing Democrats such as Rep. Maxwell Frost (FL).
“Farmers and growers nationwide, not only those damaged by Helene, have now faced multiple growing seasons without sufficient federal support,” the lawmakers, led by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), said in their letter. “Federal agricultural disaster 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.”
Lawmakers left town last week and are not expected to return until after the election on Nov. 12. So far, Congress has no plans to reconvene to pass additional disaster relief.
Some lawmakers have called on congressional leaders to bring the House and Senate back for a special session, particularly after disaster-related provisions were left out of the three-month government funding bill that was passed last week.
“Congress should have been proactive on this issue,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said Monday. “As the only former emergency management director in Congress, I have been sounding the alarm for months that this would be a problem if we just left for recess without properly funding FEMA during the height of hurricane season.”
Since the storm made landfall Thursday around 11:10 p.m., the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been completing damage assessments to determine the cost of destruction. As those are being conducted, lawmakers say it’s already evident “that the high winds and rainfall of the storm have caused our states’ agricultural sectors to suffer catastrophic losses.”
“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,” the lawmakers said.
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Helene first arrived in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 Hurricane, becoming the largest storm to ever hit the region. Hours later, it weakened to a tropical storm with sustained winds falling to 70 mph.
Helene has caused hundreds of flash flood warnings in Florida and in regions of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia since making landfall. At least 137 people have been killed, and hundreds of other people are missing.
