WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2012- Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., supported an amendment introduced today by Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., to the Hurricane Sandy disaster aid bill that would extend livestock disaster assistance for one year. Amendment #3367 would also extend Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provisions for tree and fruit growers.
The amendment, co-sponsored by Senators Stabenow, Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was reported during the consideration of H.R.1, the legislative vehicle for the Hurricane Sandy Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill.
“We are still working very hard to complete a farm bill,” Stabenow said on the Senate floor today. “But in the meantime we have disasters that have occurred, and these provisions are lifted directly from what we already passed in the farm bill that address what has happened in terms of livestock drought and fires and assistance for fruit tree growers.”
Stabenow added that “we will be speaking at a later time about it, but these are essential to be included for thousands and thousands of farmers and ranchers across the country.”
Click here for more on Stabenow and the farm bill.
#30
For more news, go to www.agri-pulse.com