Tom Harkin: “I take this time to draw attention to the provision in the pending bill regarding disaster aid to our farmers. We have…”

“I take this time to draw attention to the provision in the pending bill regarding disaster aid to our farmers. We have been fighting here for almost 3 years to get disaster relief for farmers all over America. We had it basically in our budget a couple years ago. We had it in the farm bill, but it was taken out. We had assurances from the administration that it would come later. It never did. We have farmers who were promised disaster aid over 2 years ago, and they still have not received it. A number of us on both sides of the aisle have been trying for some time now to fill in that hole and get aid to the farmers who have really suffered a lot from disasters. But upon reading the fine print, it turns out that it is not really disaster assistance, it is just putting money in a bushel basket and throwing it out to farmers. It just doesn't make any sense.”