Max Baucus: “there are a number of States that have a good number of counties which have been designated as having disasters. In…”

“there are a number of States that have a good number of counties which have been designated as having disasters. In Michigan, for example, there are 82 counties that are eligible for these emergency loans due to losses by drought. In Texas, 58 counties received emergency designations. To quote a press release from Secretary Veneman, ``Texas has experienced a variety of weather-related disasters this year, including drought, excessive rain, tornadoes, hail and flooding.'' These counties were in addition to the 23 counties designated for emergency earlier in the month of December 2001. In Idaho, 28 counties were designated; in Maine, 16 counties; in Tennessee, 16 counties were designated; in New York, 33 counties, because of drought, hail, and excessive rain; Nebraska, 36 counties due to draught and severe heat; Pennsylvania, 3 counties were named on January 8th of this year, but 58 counties in Pennsylvania were designated December 14 because of drought; in Ohio, 36 counties designated for disaster qualification due to losses caused by excessive rain and flooding. That designation was on November 8 of last year. In Oklahoma, in October of last year, the entire State was designated due to losses caused by excessive heat and drought. Secretary Veneman stated at that point: Oklahoma has experienced severe drought conditions this year. Our farmers and ranchers need this assistance to recover from these natural disaster losses.…”