Crawford votes for Agricultural Disaster Relief

Today, Congressman Rick Crawford cast a vote in support of America’s family farmers. Crawford joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in voting to pass H.R. 6233: Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 222 to 197.

“Over sixty percent of the country and nearly all of Arkansas is suffering from drought conditions. Today’s vote in the House will provide much needed relief for livestock and aquaculture producers in my district,” said Crawford. “Passing a five-year Farm Bill is still my priority and I will continue working with other members of the Agriculture Committee during August to express the need for sound agriculture policies. The challenges our farmers currently face only further illustrates the need for a Farm Bill.”

H.R. 6233: Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance will:

• H.R. 6233 reauthorizes disaster assistance programs that expired at the end of fiscal year 2011. Specifically, Livestock Indemnity Payments (LIP), Livestock Forage Disaster Programs (LFP), Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP), and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP).

• With nearly 65 percent of the country facing devastating drought conditions, it is critical that our nation’s producers be provided with effective risk management tools. This bill provides certainty to those producers who are generally ineligible for crop insurance.

• H.R. 6233 is paid for with conservation program offsets consistent with levels previously established by enacted appropriations. Those programs will operate at recent spending levels.

• The House Agriculture Committee approved, with a large bipartisan vote (35-11), a five-year bill (H.R. 6083, FARRM Act), which saves $35 billion while making substantial reforms. The bill includes livestock disaster assistance and important improvements to crop insurance to help producers get through a drought.