[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19357]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HELP THE VICTIMS OF AGRICULTURAL NATURAL DISASTERS

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, South Dakotans have always been generous 
when our fellow Americans, even those living thousands of miles away, 
are suffering.
  After September 11, we saw equipment makers, firefighters, school 
children, scout troops, church organizations, and countless other South 
Dakotans donate whatever they could to the victims. One ranch couple, 
themselves struggling, even sold 100 calves and dedicated the proceeds 
to the victims.
  As hurricanes ravaged, and continue to threaten, Florida, South 
Dakotans sent not only their prayers, but also generators and plywood. 
Yet, while all of these things have taken place, South Dakota has been 
experiencing its own disaster, the slow-motion disaster of drought.
  For the last several years, South Dakotans have been impacted to 
varying degrees by drought. In fact, 2002 was the worst drought since 
the Dust Bowl year of 1936. That is why I have worked so hard to get 
natural disaster aid for our state in the 2002 farm bill. The provision 
was not in the House-passed farm bill, and it was opposed and 
eventually stopped by the administration.
  That is why I felt that as the Senate considered disaster assistance 
for the people of Florida, it was time for us to look for ways to help 
the people of South Dakota and other areas of the Nation who have been 
the victims of agricultural disasters. Make no mistake about it, this 
aid would help farmers and ranchers in Florida who have lost a majority 
of their citrus crop, much of the nursery stock and hundreds of head of 
cattle. In fact, farmers in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and 
Georgia and all along the eastern seaboard were seriously damaged by 
the myriad hurricanes, and the devastation may not be over. But for 
farmers and ranchers in the upper Midwest, the drought has continued 
for years.
  On August 17, I wrote to the President expressing my support for 
assistance to hurricane victims and asking him to include other natural 
disaster victims, including drought-related disaster relief, in any 
emergency-funding request that he might send to Congress. While the 
Bush administration did not include this funding in its emergency 
hurricane funding requests, I still believed there was a way to secure 
this assistance.
  When the first disaster assistance bill for Florida was on the floor 
of the Senate, I attempted to include agricultural disaster assistance 
in that legislation. While a procedural maneuver blocked that effort, 
we were able to secure a commitment from Senator Frist to allow a vote 
on drought relief as part of the Homeland Security appropriations 
measure. On September 15, we got that vote, and the Senate passed a 
bipartisan provision for $2.9 billion in emergency disaster relief to 
agricultural producers.
  This is a tremendously important for farmers and ranchers throughout 
the Nation, including those in South Dakota. It is important for our 
nation's rural economy, and for all of the communities that have waited 
too long for this relief.
  The package includes $2.5 billion in assistance to crop producers 
through the crop disaster program, $475 million to livestock producers 
through the livestock assistance program, and $20 million for the tree 
assistance program. While some of us would have preferred assistance 
for both 2003 and 2004, the provision that passed would allow producers 
to choose compensation for either the 2003 or 2004 crop year.
  The Senate's passage of this assistance is not the final step in this 
process, and the Senate and the House are currently meeting to resolve 
the differences they have with the Homeland Security bill.
  I am deeply troubled by news reports that some in the House 
Republican leadership and the Bush administration are opposed to this 
most recent emergency aid provision. I would hope that the broad 
bipartisan support for this disaster provision in the Senate will 
convince the House and the President to provide the support farmers and 
ranchers across the country so badly need.
  I wholeheartedly support providing States like Florida with the 
assistance they need to bounce back from a hurricane. By unanimously 
approving this agriculture-related disaster aid, the Senate also 
acknowledged something South Dakotans know far too well: victims of 
agricultural natural disasters are no less deserving of assistance than 
victims of hurricanes, floods, or tornadoes.
  In South Dakota, we believe in helping our neighbors through tough 
times. But sometimes, we need some help, too.
  I am hopeful that help will soon be on the way, and the 
administration will reverse its long-standing opposition to 
agricultural disaster aid for farmers and ranchers throughout the 
Nation.

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