In first days after Hurricane Helene, Sen. Ossoff led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 34 lawmakersurging Congressional Leadership to pass disaster relief for agricultural producers
Last year, Sen. Ossoff testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations on the urgent need to support Georgia agriculture by end of the year
Washington, D.C. –– U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff today urged the Trump Administration to swiftly distribute Federal disaster assistance for Georgia farmers that Congress secured after Hurricane Helene.
Last December, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock successfully fought to pass a bipartisan disaster relief package that included $21 billion in agricultural disaster funding to help Georgia farmers recovering from the disastrous impacts of Hurricane Helene and farmers nationwide impacted by natural disasters.
After Hurricane Michael in 2018, it took Congress eight months to pass disaster relief. After Helene, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock secured agricultural relief in under 90 days.
Now, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock are urging newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to prioritize the swift distribution of Federal disaster assistance to Georgia farmers as passed by Congress late last year.
“We look forward to working with you to ensure that Georgia farmers remain Georgia’s economic engine as they feed and clothe our Nation and the world,” Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock wrote to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “We urge you to promptly disburse disaster assistance payments that Congress appropriated in December and work with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to meet the needs of Georgia farmers.”
“After Hurricane Michael devastated Georgia in 2018, it took Congress eight months to pass a disaster assistance package. Then, it took more than a year for USDA to begin making funds available to farmers in dire need. In contrast, Congress passed last year’s disaster assistance package in less than 90 days after Hurricane Helene,” the Senators continued. “We urge you to work with the Georgia Department of Agriculture in a similarly expeditious manner to ensure that disaster assistance is made available rapidly to help Georgia farmers recover. Georgia’s farmers, who are the backbone of Georgia’s rural communities and our State’s economy, cannot afford further delay.”
Georgia’s agricultural industries were decimated by Hurricane Helene, including hurricane-force winds and torrential rains that destroyed fall crops still in the field, knocked down pecan orchards that growers spent decades cultivating, and damaged a million and a half acres of timberland.
The Georgia Pecan Growers Association reported that 48,000 acres of pecan orchards were damaged with a loss of nearly 400,000 trees, and the Georgia Poultry Federation reported that 495 poultry houses took significant damage, including 295 that were completely lost.
Sen. Ossoff continues to champion relief for Georgia’s farmers.
In September, in the immediate days after Hurricane Helene, Sen. Ossoff and Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08), alongside Georgia’s entire Congressional Delegation, led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 34 lawmakers from Southeastern states urging Congressional Leadership to ensure disaster relief resources are made available to agricultural producers following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.
In November 2024, Sen. Ossoff testified to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, emphasizing Georgia farmers’ need for disaster relief payments following Hurricane Helene.
Click here to read Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock’s letter to Agriculture Secretary Rollins.
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