[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S5956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                DROUGHT

  Mr. DURBIN. About 2 weeks ago, I visited a farm near my home town of 
Springfield, IL to see the impact of the ongoing drought.
  From the road, I couldn't tell there was anything wrong with the 
crop.
  But as we went into the field, it quickly became clear that the crop 
was in poor shape.
  Following that visit, I met with the Illinois corn growers and the 
soybean growers and farmers from across the state.
  The message I heard was straightforward; it is as bad or worse than 
it has been in decades.
  Since that visit to a Springfield farm, drought conditions have only 
gotten worse.
  100 percent of Illinois and 64 percent of the country is facing 
severe or harsher drought conditions.
  Today, USDA announced 66 additional Illinois counties as primary 
disaster counties.
  With this announcement, all but four counties, Will, Cook, Kane, 
DuPage--in Illinois qualify for disaster assistance
  Very little rain, combined with abnormally high temperatures, is 
decimating many of the primary crop-growing areas of the country.
  71 percent of the corn crop and 56 percent of the soybean crop in 
Illinois is rated as poor or very poor.
  This is in a State that regularly ranks as a top producer for both of 
these commodities.
  That means feed prices for livestock and eventually food prices for 
the rest of us are increasing.
  Everyone is going to feel the impact of this historic drought
  In response to conditions on the ground, Governor Quinn created a 
multi-agency drought task force in Illinois.
  The task force is coordinating State and Federal resources to ensure 
producers and communities are receiving the timely assistance.
  President Obama and Secretary Vilsack have done a commendable job of 
taking steps to help provide assistance to impacted producers and 
communities.
  They have sped up the disaster declaration process helping producers 
more quickly gain access to the limited disaster programs currently 
available.
  They have reduced interest rates on emergency loans.
  They have made it easier for land that is in conservation to open 
earlier for haying and grazing for livestock producers.
  And the administration is working with crop insurance companies to 
try to give producers more time to make premium payments.
  But we can do more.
  And since we can't make rain, the single most important step Congress 
can take is to pass a farm bill.
  Most farmers will tell you they can survive one bad year.
  But right now farmers can't even plan for future years.
  More than a month ago, the Senate passed the Local Food, Farms, and 
Jobs Act, more commonly known as the farm bill, with a 64--35 
bipartisan vote.
  The bill would reauthorize several expired disaster programs to 
immediately help producers.
  Equally, if not more important, the bill would provide certainty for 
producers--allowing them to make long-term plans for getting through 
this drought and recovering from a bad year.
  Unfortunately the House has failed to act.
  In the roughly 40 days since the Senate passed a bill, the House has 
not even brought a companion measure to the House floor. During those 
40 days another 20 percent of the country has developed drought 
conditions. During those 40 days, 98 of 102 counties in Illinois 
qualified for disaster assistance. During those 40 days, many farmers 
in Illinois have lost their crops.
  It is well past time for the House to take up and pass a farm bill 
that includes robust disaster assistance paired with the long-term 
policy farmers need.
  I will repeat something I said 2 weeks ago.
  Our producers and rural America already face a natural disaster. I 
don't think it is too much that we spare them a manmade disaster by 
failing to pass a farm bill.

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