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Letter to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture - Blunt, Hawley Join Colleagues in Urging USDA to Provide Immediate Assistance to Cattle Producers

Letter

By: Roy Blunt, Martha Roby, Rick Crawford, Doug LaMalfa, Neal Dunn, Greg Steube, Dave Loebsack, Mike Simpson, Cheri Bustos, Ron Estes, John Moolenaar, Peter Stauber, Trent Kelly, David Price, Kelly Armstrong, Xochitl Torres Small, Brad Wenstrup, Troy Balderson, Markwayne Mullin, Jeff Duncan, Louie Gohmert, Mac Thornberry, Will Hurd, Robert Aderholt, Steve Womack, T.J. Cox, John Rutherford, Rick Allen, Steve King, Rodney Davis, Roger Marshall, Brett Guthrie, Tom Emmer, Billy Long, Michael Guest, Richard Hudson, Jr., Donald Bacon, Anthony Brindisi, Bob Gibbs, Anthony Gonzalez, Tom Cole, John Rose, Kevin Brady, Bill Flores, Michael Cloud, Chris Stewart, Abigail Spanberger, Ron Kind, John Boozman, Cory Gardner, Joni Ernst, Pat Roberts, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Kevin Cramer, James Lankford, Mike Rounds, Tim Kaine, Terri Sewell, Bruce Westerman, Juan Vargas, Darren Soto, Abby Finkenauer, Russ Fulcher, John Shimkus, Steven Watkins, Jr., Andy Harris, Collin Peterson, Jason Smith, Greg Gianforte, Dan Bishop, Adrian Smith, Steve Chabot, Warren Davidson, Kevin Hern, Kendra Horn, David Kustoff, Mike Conaway, Jodey Arrington, Filemon Vela, Jr., John Curtis, Morgan Griffith, Alex Mooney, Tom Cotton, David Perdue, Mike Crapo, Jerry Moran, Steve Daines, Deb Fischer, Ron Wyden, John Cornyn, Mike Enzi, Mike Rogers, French Hill, Jim Costa, Ted Yoho, Austin Scott, Cindy Axne, Mike Bost, Darin LaHood, James Comer, Jr., Jim Hagedorn, Sam Graves, Roger Wicker, David Rouzer, Jeff Fortenberry, Ben Luján, Jr., Bob Latta, Steve Stivers, Frank Lucas, Dusty Johnson, Ron Wright, Randy Weber, Sr., Roger Williams, Rob Bishop, Ben Cline, Bryan Steil, Doug Jones, Martha McSally, Chuck Grassley, Todd Young, Joshua Hawley, John Hoeven, Jim Inhofe, John Thune, Mark Warner, Brian Babin, Denver Riggleman III, Dan Newhouse, Liz Cheney, Kyrsten Sinema, Kelly Loeffler, James Risch, Bill Cassidy, Thom Tillis, Ben Sasse, Jeff Merkley, Ted Cruz, John Barrasso
Date: April 1, 2020
Issues: National Security Agriculture and Food Health and Health Care

Dear Secretary Perdue,

We write to request swift assistance for cattle producers with the resources provided in the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stabilization (CARES) Act to facilitate the stabilization of farm and ranch income to producers who are facing market volatility in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout.

Recognizing the market volatility and financial hardships producers are facing because of COVID-19, the CARES Act provides $14 billion toward replenishment of the Commodity Credit Corporation and an additional $9.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assist farmers and ranchers in response to COVID-19. While we do not know what the full market impact will be for the various commodities produced in our states, we recognize that there is an immediate need for assistance for our cattle producers.

We request that USDA consider data and estimates available from the Office of the Chief Economist and implement a program that would directly respond to the negative effect on producers caused by COVID-19. This program should deliver targeted, temporary, equitable relief to cattle producers in a manner that limits market distortions and negative effects on price discovery.

The COVID-19 outbreak has demonstrated the need for domestic food security. All farmers and ranchers are vital to our country's ability to keep food on the table in a future pandemic or related crisis, and many producers, including young producers, are often highly leveraged and cannot fall back on years of equity in a time of crisis. As such, we urge you to quickly deliver relief to producers as we work to lessen the economic impact of this pandemic.


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