FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 5, 2007

Contact:  Sandy Courtnage

MFU Commends Senate Finance Committee for Permanent Disaster Program

GREAT FALLS, MT (Oct. 5, 2007) – Montana Farmers Union (MFU) President Alan Merrill today offered his hearty congratulations and thanks to members of the Senate Finance Committee, which passed a tax package that will fund a permanent disaster assistance program.  

“I particularly want to thank Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Finance Committee, who heard our concerns and suggestions for permanent disaster early in the Farm Bill discussion,” said MFU President Alan Merrill.  “Senator Baucus has led the effort to find a way to provide for this much needed safety net for agriculture producers.”

The Heartland, Habitat, Harvest and Horticulture Act of 2007 passed last night (October 4) by the Senate Finance Committee provides funding to create a permanent disaster assistance program to aid producers struck by weather-related disasters.

Since 1998, Congress has approved 23 ad hoc disaster assistance bills, and with each bill the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has to develop and implement a different program.

With weather-related disasters occurring somewhere in the country every year, a permanent disaster program provides a common sense solution to this ongoing situation.

The House version of the farm bill authorizes a permanent disaster program, but because of the farm bill’s decreased budget baseline, the resources were not available for its funding.

The effort to create a permanent disaster program was led by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and committee members, Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

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