Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) led a Senate colloquy Monday to outline the importance of supporting farmers, ranchers and rural America in legislation to provide relief from the impacts of COVID-19. Hoeven worked to include $50 billion in funding authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Joining Hoeven were Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD), and Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) in making remarks on the floor.
The $50 billion in funding authority sought would include:
Replenishing $30 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funding authority for USDA
Increasing the CCC borrowing authority an additional $20 billion for USDA to respond to COVID-19
Enabling USDA to utilize CCC funding to assist livestock producers, as well as other sectors of the agriculture economy
Listen to the senators here:
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) (10:12)
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) (2:34)
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) (4:44)
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) (6:22)
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) (13:39)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) (3:16)