Rosa DeLauro Spars With Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins Over Trump Admin Releasing $200M In Farmer Disaster Aid

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During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) questioned Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on the timeline for when the Trump Administration would release disaster relief aid for farmers.

Transcript

00:00Laura. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple points before I get to my question.

00:06The proposals, I understand, in reconciliation is a $200 billion cut to the food stamp program,

00:12so it remains to be seen how we're going to really maintain that effort to feed hungry people in this

00:17country. A tax on sugary beverages, I've introduced that legislation, the SWEET Act, many, many years

00:22ago. It's one way in which we can address the issue of nutrition and food. Let's talk to those

00:30who are profiting and talk about putting that tax that can be used for health purposes. I would hope

00:38in the nature of nutrition that you would look at what was just taken out before, the cash value

00:44voucher for fruit and vegetables. It's by hope that you can support that effort. With regard to the price

00:49of eggs, CalMain, which has one-fifth of the market on egg production, $500 million in profits,

00:56three times what they made last year. If you're going to address egg prices, you've got to talk

01:00about price gouging, and I don't know what the administration is doing about that. Let me just

01:05talk about the safety net, which leaves New England and specialty crop farmers with few resources to

01:11recoup losses, forcing them to make very difficult decisions that put their livelihoods in danger

01:16and community food systems at risk. One of the primary reasons that Connecticut has lost 460 farms

01:22over the last five years, the reason I created the new $220 million block grant, the Farm Support and

01:29Recovery Block Grant, specifically tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized farmers in last year's

01:36disaster supplemental. I know our commissioner is going to be here a little bit later, and I know

01:43how excited that we are about this program and about farmers excited about this program. Specialty crop

01:50farms have a hard time receiving crop insurance because of the lack of availability of coverage

01:56for diverse and specialty crops. One of those farmers who you just mentioned is in the room today,

02:02and that's Will Della Camera. Now, let me just ask a series of questions, which are really

02:06yes or no answers. Would you agree that we have a lot more work to do to improve our federal farm

02:12safety net to better support small and medium-sized farmers? It's very important. Okay. Will you commit

02:19to getting disaster aid in farmers' pockets as soon as possible? Yes, ma'am. We're working 24 hours a day on

02:26that. Will you ensure that this $220 million grant covers the losses it intended to cover,

02:35including crop and livestock losses? We'll do everything we can. It's my understanding that

02:40may not be enough that, in fact, the losses are bigger than the $220 million. What I want to know

02:45is because I mentioned all kinds of programs that have been funds frozen, terminated. Well,

02:53you're talking about the $220 million from Congress. So are we talking about that or are we talking

02:57about bigger things? No, I'm talking about specifically today. I understand more, but we

03:03have $220 million right there now that farmers can get access to it, and Will Della Camera cannot

03:10get the funds that he needs. Ma'am, it was three months ago. The last administration took

03:14more than a year. This is extremely complicated. I just said that by the end of the month, the money

03:21will begin to move, which is at rapid space. On this $220 million block grant. Yes, ma'am.

03:25The $220 million. So by the end of the month, that money is going to flow. And you know this,

03:29that we have to have agreements with every state. It's not that USDA, by ourselves, sends a check out.

03:35I know this. The states were to descend in. Okay, so we are working diligently with the states.

03:39Excuse me. Your Ag Commissioner is coming in today to talk about it.

03:41Right, exactly. I think I've given a lot of confidence that we're working really hard on that.

03:45It's not about hard work, Madam Secretary. It's about the commitment to what was passed in the

03:50Disaster Relief Act of $220 million that is going to farmers. And when will that money flow? You just

03:57said it's the end of the month. For the 10th time since I started 40 minutes ago, it will begin to

04:03flow by the end of the month. Okay, we will hold you to that effort. Let me then ask about this

04:08because you're concerned about nutrition. The real concern about nutrition, which we all have concerns

04:14about. On the bipartisan basis, for 25 years, administrations and members of Congress have provided

04:21enough funding to WIC to serve all eligible families who seek assistance and provide them with full food

04:27benefits. I appreciate your commitment to WIC yesterday on the Senate side, and we anticipate that

04:34that that will continue. But will you also commit to funding the cash value voucher for fruits and

04:41vegetables at the current level? Well, we'll take a look at that. I'm not going to commit to it today.

04:46In the grand total of the vision here, we're doing everything we can. But what's so important is we

04:51spend $400 million a day on these 16 nutrition programs across USDA. $405 million a day. So there's plenty of

05:00money in the system for priorities. The voucher, we had to reinstate it because it was eliminated the

05:04last go-round. We cannot afford to do that because if we're concerned about nutrition, fruits and

05:10vegetables and the cash value voucher are central to that effort. Well, I'd love to keep talking to

05:15you about it. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Molinar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And with your

05:22plan, I will try to see MIC. Zohan. Bye-bye.

05:38Especially my attention. It's again on the basketball court. The funeral court is leading

05:46up to Florida. That will return down the KO Troy route for hours and free lunch available to

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