Lindsey Graham: “Mr. President, if ever there was an industry in crisis, this is it. Since last year, the Florida citrus industry has…”

“Mr. President, if ever there was an industry in crisis, this is it. Since last year, the Florida citrus industry has been besieged by the ravages of citrus canker. Citrus canker is a disease that spreads rapidly through the air to infect grove after grove after grove. There is no cure. Once a tree becomes infected, it must be burned to the ground to prevent further spreading. As part of an ongoing effort to eradicate citrus canker, the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a regulation requiring the destruction of all trees within a 1,900 foot radius of an infected tree. The result is that hundreds of healthy trees are burned to the ground. This government regulation is critical to eradication of citrus canker, but it increases the number of trees that are destroyed. To date, over 1,500 acres of limes and oranges, have been burned. In response, both the Governor and the Secretary of Agriculture declared a state of emergency in Florida due to the citrus canker outbreak. Once destroyed, it takes between three and four years for a citrus tree to reach maturity and produce its maximum capacity of fruit. The growers whose healthy trees are destroyed by the federal government are robbed of income today and income for the next three to four years.”