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Congressman Paul Tonko announced that he has successfully negotiated to include disaster assistance for farmers in the fiscal year 2012 compromise spending bills that the House and Senate conference committees reported late last night. This includes $122.7 million for the USDA’s Emergency Conservation Program and $215.9 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, totaling $338.6 million.

In October 2011, Congressman Tonko introduced HR 3005, the Helping Devastated Farmers Act of 2011, which requested funding for those programs at a combined amount of $338.5 million.

“Over 75 days ago as I toured our region after the ravaging floods of Irene and Lee, I saw that the most impacted areas were farmlands. Agricultural assistance has been my top priority in responding to the floods, which is why I introduced HR 3005, the Helping Devastated Farmers Act of 2011, just over a month ago,” said Congressman Tonko. “I have been fighting for these assistance resources for farmers every day since then, and am happy to announce today that I have been able to secure these funds in the budget compromise. Our fight to recover from these natural disasters is far from over, but this is a positive step in the right direction.”

The Emergency Conservation Program provides emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters or threatened by severe drought. The Emergency Watershed Protection Program is designed to help communities address imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods and other natural disasters. It provides funding to remove debris from stream channels, road culverts and bridges, reshape and protect eroded banks, and correct damaged drainage facilities, and other repairs. Those programs are administered by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The compromise spending levels will be considered before the full House of Representatives and the Senate later this week, and are expected to be passed and be signed into law by President Obama. The current stop-gap funding bill expires on Friday at midnight.

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