Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) has put forth the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2006 to provide assistance for crop production losses, livestock assistance, and supplemental nutrition and economic disaster assistance to aid with rapidly escalating production input costs. The Act also provides for assistance specifically directed at aiding recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
Twenty Senators have co-signed the bill including Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), a member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill is estimated to cost $3.566 billion.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee rejected a $3.4 billion disaster assistance amendment proposed by Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) to aid families impacted by hurricanes, droughts and other weather related disasters in 2005.
Source:
Brownfield Ag News