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Congressman Paul Tonko today wrote to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in support of a request by Governor Andrew Cuomo that they provide waivers to allow farmers hit hard by Hurricane Irene to retroactively enroll in federal crop insurance programs. The letter has received bipartisan support in the House, and has been co-signed by: Rep. Bill Owens, Rep. Chris Gibson, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, Rep. Richard Hanna, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Nan Hayworth, and Rep. Jose Serrano.

The waivers would allow many farmers who are currently ineligible for federal assistance to receive needed assistance to recover from the devastating floods of the past week. In order for farmers to receive farm disaster aid, the USDA requires that they be enrolled in crop insurance programs, which does not make sense for many upstate New York farmers because they grow smaller, more unique crops. Similar requests have been made following other disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.

”We need to act quickly to help get our farmers back on their feet – the economic health of our rural communities depends on it,” said Congressman Tonko. “I will continue to partner with Governor Cuomo, local officials, and my colleagues here in Washington to ensure that we can provide the resources our communities need to recover and rebuild.”

The text of the letter is below:
September 8, 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

The Honorable Craig Fugate
Administrator
Federal Emergency Management Agency
U.S. Department of Homeland security
500 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20472

Dear Secretary Vilsack and Administrator Fugate,

We write in support of Governor Cuomo’s request to you for a waiver allowing agriculture producers to retroactively enroll in crop insurance and the non-insured crop disaster assistance program (NAP). This would enable our hard hit farmers, many of whom are currently ineligible for federal assistance, to access these resources.  Given that less than 20% of farmers in many of our counties have appropriate insurance coverage for this circumstance, your approval of this request will help them get back on their feet in their deepest hour of need.
 
The reason so few farmers have this insurance coverage, as the Governor mentioned in his request, is that they generally have smaller operations than those the disaster programs were designed for or grow a diversity of unique crops. However, granting them a waiver to retroactively enroll in the program will free many resources and assistance programs that are currently unavailable to them. As you know, the quicker our farmers get back on their feet, the quicker the rural economy can recover. Every one dollar in farm spending is worth seven dollars in the surrounding area, making farming a vital local economic development resource.

We appreciate all of the actions already taken by the USDA and FEMA in responding to this crisis. Specifically, we thank you for visiting New York to see the damage first-hand.

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,

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