Salazar disappointed in Senate leadership's unwillingness to br

Colorado

United States Senator Ken Salazar recently challenged Senate leadership to do their job and get critical aid to America's farmers and ranchers impacted by ongoing droughts and other natural disasters.

"Senate leadership has failed America's farmers and ranchers; they continue to turn their backs on providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers while they have the opportunity to do it," said Senator Salazar. "Colorado and the West have been mired in a 7-year drought. In Colorado, losses on the winter Wheat crop alone were estimated at approximately $95 million, and fuel costs are up 100 percent in the last year alone.

"Democrats and Republicans came together on Capitol Hill merely two days ago in a bipartisan plea for emergency disaster funding and GOP leadership's response is nothing more than a cold shoulder."

Just last week, a bipartisan group of senators including Democratic Senators Salazar, CO, Conrad, ND, and Baucus, MT, and Republican Senators Coleman, MN, Hagel, NE, and Thune (SD), introduced S. 3855, the "Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2006." That bill was offered as an amendment yesterday to a port security bill currently being debated in Congress. Senate leaders have refused to allow that amendment to come up for a vote; however, because of its bipartisan support it would most likely pass.

Covering losses incurred in both 2005 and 2006, the Act would provide billions in direct emergency disaster relief for losses due to ongoing disasters. The legislation is comprehensive and national in scope, covering losses from hurricanes, drought, flood, disease and other weather related causes. The bill also provides for a Livestock Compensation program for producers in designated disaster counties to help cover their added costs of procuring livestock feed, supplemental nutrition and economic disaster assistance in the form of a supplemental direct payment as well as funding for a small business grant program for businesses that have suffered financial losses due to drought conditions in their communities.

"Earlier this year, Washington had the opportunity to give direct relief to our nation's farmers, ranchers and rural communities who were struggling to get by," Senator Salazar added. "But a lack of leadership by President Bush and opponents of this provision in Congress led to Washington turning its back on our farmers. We now have the opportunity to correct this before it is too late."

In March, Senator Salazar joined with a bipartisan group of 26 Senate colleagues, led by Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, to introduce S.2438, the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2006. In April 2006, S.2438 was unanimously included into the $96B Iraq/ Afghanistan/ hurricane relief emergency supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 4939, which passed the Senate by a vote of 77 to 21 in early May of this year with Senator Salazar's support. Unfortunately, this important rural relief provision failed to survive the House-Senate conference. Senator Salazar was the only member of Colorado's Senate delegation not a member of the conference committee, and was the only member of Colorado's Senate delegation to consistently back this critical legislation to preserve the livelihoods of Colorado's farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

Date: 9/20/06

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