Rep. Laurel Lee Urges USDA to Expedite Aid for Hurting Florida Agriculture Producers

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Laurel Lee (FL-15) joined Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Congressman Scott Franklin (FL-18), and the entire Florida delegation in writing Secretary Vilsack to strongly urge the USDA to take immediate action to provide disaster assistance for Florida agricultural producers affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

“Agriculture is such an important part of Florida's 15th District, and after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, our farmers and producers need our support," said Congresswoman Laurel Lee. "I am urging the USDA to quickly take action and deliver aid to our agriculture producers in Florida who were affected by these disasters so they can get back to feeding America."

"The devastation from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton has hit Florida’s farmers hard, and the impacts are rippling through our state. These back-to-back storms wiped out crops, destroyed infrastructure, and put countless livelihoods in jeopardy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture must act swiftly to deliver the critical aid our agricultural producers need to rebuild and recover. Florida can’t do this alone, and our farmers deserve nothing less than our full support,” said Senator Rubio (R-FL).

"Back-to-back hurricanes have dealt a devastating blow to Florida's agricultural producers, many of whom are still recovering from the disastrous 2022 season. After four major storms in two years, our farmers and ranchers desperately need help now. One-size-fits-all federal disaster programs consistently fail our state's agricultural sector, creating onerous application processes and delaying critical aid. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, when USDA administered appropriated funds to Florida through a block grant, the state quickly got help into the hands of our producers. Putting Florida in the driver’s seat made all the difference. Forgoing a federal program in favor of a state solution is a critical, but simple fix," said Congressman Franklin.

Specifically, in the letter, the Florida delegation:

• Emphasize the necessity for the USDA to utilize block grants to distribute aid to Florida and other specialty-crop states, where high volume of disaster program applications overwhelm local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices and delay assistance for producers;
• Demand USDA enhance current FSA operations and improve staffing issues;
• Urge the USDA to provide a budgetary request to House and Senate Appropriations Committees to ensure Congress can appropriate adequate funding for disaster response;
• Discuss crop insurance reforms to help specialty crop producers recover in tandem with disaster aid; and
• Reasserts Congress’ desire to collaborate with USDA to ensure proper support for Florida agriculture.

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast just 13 days after Helene and brought high winds, flooding and damage across the entire state. Milton’s path impacted some of Florida’s most productive agricultural areas for fruits, vegetables, dairy, cattle, citrus and other specialty crops. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), the preliminary estimate of total crop and infrastructure losses ranges from $1.5 to $2.5 billion.

Congress appropriates relief and disaster funds for the USDA to disburse relief. Currently, it is USDA’s practice to stand up new, unique programs after disasters. These programs are administered by FSA, the USDA subagency charged with helping agricultural producers apply for aid and other USDA assistance programs.

This practice not only makes the disaster relief process arduous, but also delays delivery of critical assistance for the producers who feed our state and nation. FSA offices across Florida are still having trouble facilitating disaster assistance programs after 2022 Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, which were not in the form of a block grant.

In contrast, block grants administered by the state expedite disbursement, free up personnel at FSA to efficiently carry out routine programs and provide needed flexibility for states. After Hurricane Irma, Congress appropriated relief to help Florida agriculture and USDA delivered that aid through a block grant to the state. The State of Florida was successful in getting that aid without delay.

Cosigners include: Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL-03); Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL-13); Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL-02); Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-21); Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12); Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-26); Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL-15); Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL-06); Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27); Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL-11); Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL-04); Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL-08); Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL-05); Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL-09); Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL-19); Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL-7); Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23); Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25); Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL-17); Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL- 22); Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL-28); Rep. Federica Wilson (D-FL-24); Rep. Sheila Cherfilus- McCormick (D-FL-20); Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16); Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01); Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL-14)

You can read the text of the letter here.