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Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, on Friday issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced expanded eligibility and updated payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Producers who are now
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MOVING AHEAD: Bill Northey, USDA FPAC undersecretary, says his agency is working on finalizing rules ahead of a Jan. 20 transition. Official shares how USDA looks to advance some actions to implement programs ahead of the switch to next administration.
Only a few weeks remain for the farmer leaders now at USDA to advance some of their remaining priorities, including teeing up some programs funded in recent actions by Congress including the additional $13 billion in coronavirus aid and actions allowed through the consolidated appropriations bill.
One of those first new rollouts includes the Quality Loss Adjustment program that USDA announced Jan. 5 after Congress allocated an additional $1.5 billion for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). And USDA leaders say additional action could be coming in the weeks ahead of the Jan. 20 transition of power.
-The Hagstrom Report
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., on Tuesday issued a news release highlighting the agriculture provisions in the fiscal year 2021 omnibus appropriations bill.
Hoeven said he had worked particularly hard to secure:
▪ Additional $1.5 billion for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+), to ensure program funding is sufficient to meet demand from producers who were impacted by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019.
▪ $5 million for the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy Grant Program, which supports innovation clusters in rural regions. Hoeven also included language to prioritize projects like Grand Farm Test Site in North Dakota.
▪ Increased funding to meet demand for farm direct, guaranteed and emergency loans, which provide farmers and ranchers with access to capital.
Congress approved the Fiscal Year 2021 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in action late Monday night in the omnibus package that included all 12 appropriation measures. The bill contains a total of $23.395 billion in total base discretionary funding for agriculture.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. says as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, his top priority is supporting producers and providing them with the necessary tools to overcome challenges from weather to low commodity prices to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Click for full bill summary.
“We worked hard to pass an agriculture funding bill that funds the farm safety net, provides access to capital and invests in our rural communities,” Hoeven says. “This funding, which is in addition to our work on disaster and COVID assistance, will provide farm country with important tools to help them succeed.”