[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 180 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5284-S5285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BLOCK GRANT ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2023

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Committee on 
Appropriations is discharged from further consideration of H.R. 662, 
and the Senate will proceed to consideration of the bill, which the 
clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 662) to amend the Disaster Relief Supplemental 
     Appropriations Act, 2023 to improve disaster relief funding 
     for agricultural producers, and for other purposes.


                           Amendment No. 1357

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, substitute amendment 
No. 1357 is considered and agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 1357) was agreed to.
  The amendment is as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Block Grant Assistance Act 
     of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. DISASTER RELIEF SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                   2023, AMENDMENT.

       Title I of the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations 
     Act, 2023 (division N of Public Law 117-328; 136 Stat. 5201), 
     is amended, in the matter under the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF 
     AGRICULTURE--AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS--Processing, Research and 
     Marketing--office of the secretary'' , by inserting ``: 
     Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture may 
     provide assistance for losses described under this heading in 
     this Act in the form of block grants to eligible States and 
     territories'' before the period at the end.

     SEC. 3. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.

       Amounts repurposed under the amendment made by section 2 
     that were previously designated by the Congress as an 
     emergency requirement pursuant to section 4001(a)(1) of S. 
     Con. Res. 14 (117th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 
     the budget for fiscal year 2022, and section 1(e) of H. Res. 
     1151 (117th Congress), as engrossed in the House of 
     Representatives on June 8, 2022, are designated by the 
     Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to 
     section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
     Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 4 
minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to the next rollcall vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, as we work to get the 
agriculture community back on their feet, I won't stop fighting to make 
sure the Federal Government keeps showing up.
  Following natural disasters in prior years, USDA has administered 
block grants to many of our States. The Block Grant Assistance Act 
would explicitly give USDA the authority to provide block grants as an 
option to States and territories to assist agricultural producers with 
losses due to natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2022.
  Importantly, it provides streamlined relief to growers by freeing up 
USDA resources at State FSA offices; allowing States to allocate funds 
directly to growers impacted most by covered disasters; and allowing 
farmers to perform necessary and time-sensitive tasks on their farms 
without the danger of forgoing disaster aid.
  This bill does not mandate States to request disaster funding through 
State block grants; it only opens up this option.
  I have talked to many of you about this bill in the last few days, 
and I understand that some of my Democrat colleagues have concerns 
about this legislation. I want to address those concerns directly and 
why we are even talking about this right now.
  First, this bill doesn't take anything away from anyone's State. It 
creates an option for block grants that help our growers and ranchers 
who have been impacted by disasters. Again, this bill will not 
negatively impact any State. I want to make sure that is clear.
  I have also heard some of my colleagues say that this isn't needed 
because just this week, after refusing to take action for 14 months, 
Biden's Ag Department finally opened up the ERP portal for growers and 
ranchers to apply for assistance just as this was to come to a vote. 
Our farmers have still not received a dime.
  Here is the deal: I don't trust this process--I know my constituents 
sure don't--and I don't think the assistance being offered is anything 
close to what is needed for our farmers to actually recover.
  This bill helps farmers all across the country, but let me speak for 
Florida. We have been waiting for more than a year--14 months to be 
exact--and nothing was done by the Biden administration until they knew 
that the Senate would be voting on my bill, and it is still just an 
application process. I don't think anyone can blame us for feeling 
uneasy about this process.
  If we pass this bill today, we can give certainty to growers and 
ranchers in all of our States that they have a reliable partner in the 
Federal Government to make sure they can recover from natural 
disasters. That seems like something we can support.
  Folks across the country who put food on our tables and create jobs 
in our States are hurting. I have been clear to the ag community in 
Florida: I won't stop fighting to make sure the Federal Government 
keeps showing up.
  This is a good bill that helps hard-working people. It has already 
unanimously passed in the House, and I urge all of my colleagues to 
support it in the Senate today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, our Nation has experienced a series of 
recent natural disasters: the tragic Maui wildfires, flooding in 
Vermont and California, and the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia. 
Communities in my home State of New Mexico have been impacted by 
destructive floods and mudslides following last year's historic 
wildfire season.
  We must get these Americans the help they need during these difficult 
times, and we must do it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this 
bill would do the opposite.
  On Friday, the Biden administration announced that producers impacted 
by disasters last year are now eligible to apply for critical emergency 
assistance. H.R. 662 would delay that funding, essentially stopping the 
application process that the U.S. Department of Agriculture just got 
underway. In addition, the administration already has the authority 
under law to provide

[[Page S5285]]

funding to States through block grants. So this bill is both 
counterproductive and unnecessary.
  For these reasons, I would urge my colleagues to vote no.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for 
the third time.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.


                            Vote on H.R. 662

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill pass?
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. 
Manchin) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and 
the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).
  The result was announced--yeas 43, nays 53, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 285 Leg.]

                                YEAS--43

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Braun
     Britt
     Budd
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Fischer
     Graham
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lummis
     Marshall
     McConnell
     Moran
     Mullin
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Schmitt
     Scott (FL)
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tuberville
     Vance
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--53

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Butler
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Fetterman
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lujan
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Ricketts
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Welch
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Lee
     Manchin
     Scott (SC)
     Tillis
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ossoff). On this vote, the yeas are 43, 
the nays 53.
  The 60-vote threshold having not been achieved, the bill, as amended, 
fails passage.
  The bill (H.R. 662), as amended, was rejected.
  The Senator from New Mexico.

                          ____________________