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Congressman Paul Tonko today was joined by Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in leading a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking for a quick decision to declare local counties eligible for federal emergency assistance after devastation caused by Tropical Storm Irene. This letter is sent to the Secretary hours before he is set to tour local farms and towns to see the impact up close.

Other signees on the letter include: Congressmen Chris Gibson, Bill Owens, Nan Hayworth, Richard Hanna, Tim Bishop and Maurice Hinchey.

“Agriculture and farmers are the lifeblood of our rural communities,” said Congressman Tonko. “The impact this storm had on farms, crops, livestock and families is simply devastating. That is why I am calling on USDA to swiftly declare six counties in my congressional district alone as eligible for federal aid. The sooner federal assistance is made available, the sooner we can help those hit the hardest get back on their feet.”

“Irene has devastated farms across New York but our farmers are not down for the count,” said Senator Schumer. “It's critical that USDA quickly approve disaster assistance for New York so that farmers can get the aid they need to get back on their feet. Agriculture is simply too important to our state and our economy to wait for this vital assistance.”

“New York is home to the hardest working farm families and the finest locally-grown produce in the world. We must stand with our New York farmers shouldering the burden this storm is leaving us with,” Senator Gillibrand said. “We need these designations to help our farmers and rural communities recover from this devastating storm."

 The text of the letter is copied below:

September 2, 2011

The Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack

Secretary

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building

1400 Independence Ave S.W. Room 200-A

Washington D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

We write to respectfully request an expedited review of Governor Cuomo’s request to you for federal agriculture disaster assistance. Your approval of this request will help our farmers in upstate New York get back on their feet after the terrible devastation imposed on them by Tropical Storm Irene.

We appreciate all of the actions already taken by the USDA in responding to this crisis. Specifically, we thank you in advance for planning to visit New York to see the damage firsthand.

As you know, preliminary agriculture farmland losses exceed $45 million worth of damage in New York State and have been estimated to impact 140,000 acres of farmland.  Therefore, we appreciate your immediate consideration of the following counties for a natural disaster designation from USDA: Albany, Broome, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Lewis, Montgomery, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Washington and Wayne.

Your swift action approving this request will enable federal assistance to our rural communities in this time of crisis. Again, we appreciate your timely consideration of this request.  For many in our agricultural community, timely access to these resources could mean the difference between keeping the doors open or shutting down permanently.  

Sincerely,