Representative Michael Saba District 9 Hartford signs letter with 128 state legislators from 34 states urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to utilize Cares Act funds specifically allocated for our agricultural producers, farmers and ranchers to be distributed with appropriate emphasis on the small farmers and producers including our Native Americans and other minority producers and agricultural workers.Â
The letter and signatories to Secretary Perdue follows:
April 23, 2020
The Honorable George Ervin “Sonny†Perdue III Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250 Dear Secretary Perdue:
We are 128 state legislators from 34 states writing to you as state policymakers who are gravely concerned about COVID-19 and the impact on our local food and specialty crop producers.
Significant revenue losses are projected for the multibillion-dollar local food industry in which producers sell directly into local and regional markets.
In view of Congress’s decision to allocate some $9.5 billion to support local food production during and following this public health emergency, we write to urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to focus its discretionary authority in the allocation of these resources to mitigate the financial harm to those producers working to ensure that our communities have local, fresh and wholesome food, as well as to prevent the structural damage to markets that would set back regional and community-based food system development for years to come.
At a time of economic and social disruption—when the potential for innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship are greatest—we encourage the department to support the continued development of emerging, sustainable models for food production, processing, and distribution, that also have become lifelines for food banks and school feeding programs across the country.
We are concerned that Congress gave little guidance for how this CARES Act appropriation will be spent. And we are conscious of the fact that many of our local producers, Black farmers, and underserved minority farmers who do not currently participate in USDA programs could be overlooked in the distribution of funds.
We insist that the USDA solicit and respect the recommendations of the local food experts in our state departments of agriculture and land grant universities, as well as the voices of food producers and the many other players in our local and regional food systems, as you strive to ensure the equitable distribution of federal resources.
For example, we suggest that you strongly consider allocating a major portion of the appropriation to state departments of agriculture in the form of block grants, based on reasonable metrics associated with food production and domestic consumption, so that each state can address its unique needs based on a model other than “one size fits all.â€
Whether the funds are expended through the states or directly by USDA, we urge you to ensure that the resources are equitably distributed to benefit local food producers.
A number of USDA programs rely on local food producers for their success, including the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, Double Up Food Bucks, and the Produce Prescription Program. If additional funds cannot be allocated to these programs directly, then direct support under the CARES Act for local producers who supply such programs will be essential.
We support the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in many of its recommendations and urge USDA to observe the following principles in making these decisions:
• Ensure that aid to local and regional food system food producers is commensurate with expected losses of more than $1 billion;
• Invest in and offer support for market development designed to foster the stabilization, growth and increased sustainability of the production of food for local and regional consumption;
• Prioritize small- and mid-sized farms that sell directly into local and regional markets, with special attention to farmers historically underserved by USDA;
• Provide funds directly to producers, including livestock contract growers, and not to integrators, packers, or processors likely to be eligible for aid through other programs;
• Ensure that information about applying for aid is readily accessible, provided in multiple languages and formats, and that assistance for applicants with limited English proficiency is readily available;
• Not limit aid to farmers that are already participating in federal programs; farms should not be required to have an FSA number in order to receive aid;
• Provide outreach to farmers about aid opportunities that is thorough and robust, including outreach to urban farmers, indigenous farmers, Black farmers, minority farmers, very small and limited-resource farmers, and farmers with limited English proficiency;
• Guarantee that the Inspector General has all of the information to ensure a timely and robust audit of the implementation of the agricultural provisions in the CARES Act.
Further, we urge USDA to extend grant deadlines for applicants to recognize the hardships that they are experiencing and to ensure the utmost flexibility during the national public health disaster.
We thank you for your attention and consideration, and we look forward to working with you to engage our constituents involved in local agricultural systems, now and in the future.
Sincerely,
The undersigned
Representative KC Becker
Colorado
Representative Della Belati
Hawaii
Senator Shenna Bellows
Maine
Representative Joel Briscoe
Utah
Representative Julie Brixie
Michigan
Representative Bri Buentello
Colorado
Senator Claire Celsi
Iowa
Senator Stephanie Chang
Michigan
Delegate Lorig Charkoudian
Maryland
Representative Annmarie Christensen
Vermont
Representative Brian Clem
Oregon
Representative James Coleman
Colorado
Representative Sarah Copeland Hanzas Vermont
Representative Mari Cordes
Vermont
Senator Sue Crawford
Nebraska
Representative Lisa Cutter
Colorado
Representative Mary Jo Daley
Pennsylvania
Senator Allison DeGazon
Virgin Islands
Senator Michael Dembrow
Oregon
Senator Andrew Dinniman
Pennsylvania
Representative Kari Dolan
Vermont
Representative Molly Donahue
Iowa
Representative Sherry Dorsey Walker
Delaware
Representative Caleb Elder
Vermont
Representative Daneya Esgar
Colorado
Representative Charen Fegard
Vermont
Delegate Barbara Fleischauer
West Virginia
Senator JD Ford
Indiana
Senator Mike Gabbard
Hawaii
Representative Tavia Galonski
Ohio
Senator Erika Geiss
Michigan
Senator Sara Gelser
Oregon
Senator Eric Giddens
Iowa
Senator Jeff Golden
Oregon
House Democratic Leader Christine Greig
Michigan
Delegate Michele Guyton
Maryland
Representative Chris Hall
Iowa
Representative Pricey Harrison
North Carolina
Representative Adam Hattersley
Florida
Representative Craig Hickman
Maine
Senator Rob Hogg
Iowa
Representative Joseph Hohenstein Pennsylvania
Representative Rachel Hood
Michigan
Representative Kara Hope
Michigan
Representative Charles Isenhart
Iowa
Senator Jani Iwamoto
Utah
Senator Troy Jackson
Maine
Representative Carolyn Jackson
Indiana
Representative Dominique Jackson
Colorado
Senator Pam Jochum
Iowa
Representative Chris Kennedy
Colorado
Representative Cathy Kipp
Colorado
Delegate Kaye Kory
Virginia
Representative Bob Kressig
Iowa
Representative Jasmine Krotkov
Montana
Representative Fue Lee
Minnesota
Representative Deborah Lekanoff
Washington
Representative Vicki Lensing
Iowa
Senator Matthew Lesser
Connecticut
Representative Ben Lien
Minnesota
Representative Todd Lippert
Minnesota
Representative Leslie Love
Michigan
Senator Margie MacDonald
Montana
Representative Mary Mascher
Iowa
Representative Jim Masland
Vermont
Senator Sean McCann
Michigan
Representative Julie McCluskie Colorado
Representative Charlie McConkey
Iowa
Representative Curt McCormack Vermont
Representative Tracy McCreery
Missouri
Representative Genevieve McDonald
Maine
Representative Andy McKean
Iowa
Representative Barbara McLachlan
Colorado
Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet Colorado
Delegate David Moon
Maryland
Representative Megan Murray
New Hampshire
Representative Logan Nicoll
Vermont
Representative Andrea Olsen
Montana
Assistant Speaker Felix W. Ortiz
New York
Representative Carolyn Partridge
Vermont
Representative Avram Patt
Vermont
Assemblywoman Sarah Peters
Nevada
Representative William Pluecker
Maine
Senator Dayna Polehanki
Michigan
Representative Dylan Roberts
Colorado
Representative Eddie Rodriguez
Texas
Representative Wes Rogers
Missouri
Representative Michael Saba
South Dakota
Representative Lindsay Sabadosa Massachusetts
Senator John Sabatina, Jr.
Pennsylvania
Senator Linda Sanborn
Maine
Representative Robin Scheu
Vermont
Senator Judy Schwank
Pennsylvania
Representative Katrina Shankland
Wisconsin
Representative Sharon Shewmake
Washington
Representative Jeffrey Shipley
Iowa
Representative Jonathan Singer
Colorado
Representative Emily Sirota
Colorado
Representative Trevor Squirrell
Vermont
Representative Art Staed
Iowa
Representative Sharon Steckman
Iowa
Representative Cherlynn Stevenson
Kentucky
Senator Sharif Street
Pennsylvania
Representative Mary Sullivan
Vermont
Representative Randall Szott
Vermont
Representative Geran Tarr
Alaska
Representative Raquel Teran
Arizona
Representative Liz Thomson
New Mexico
Representative Kerry Tipper
Colorado
Representative Brianna Titone
Colorado
Representative Maida Townsend
Vermont
Representative Chip Troinao
Vermont
Representative Donald Valdez
Colorado
Assembly Member Jo Ann Van Slyke
New York
Senator Mary Ware
Kansas
Representative Ami Wazlawik
Minnesota
Representative Mike Weissman
Colorado
Representative Ken Wells
New Hampshire
Representative Marty Wilde
Oregon
Representative Dave Williams
Iowa
Representative Angela Witwer
Michigan
Representative Mary Wolfe
Iowa
Representative Theresa Wood
Vermont
Senator Mike Woodard
North Carolina
Representative Michael Yantachka
Vermont
Representative Mary Young
Colorado
Delegate Lisa Zukoff
West Virginia