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More agriculture disaster relief sought

Oct 28, 2011 1:41 am
Kyle Glazier in Capitol Confidential, the Albany Times-Union's political blog, reports that the 11 members of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Georgia Republican Jack Kingston, are determining if local farms will receive additional disaster relief funds. A $3.65 billion Sept. 21 bill was voted down by both fiscal conservative Republicans -- who wanted cuts in Democrat-favored green energy programs -- and liberal Democrats -- who said the funding was not enough. An $2.65 billion Oct. 5 compromise was signed by President Obama, but that is set to expire Nov. 18. “Following the tremendous damage done to farms by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, I have made it a priority to secure agriculture disaster relief funding in the next federal spending measure,” said Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, who voted against the bill last time, is more hopeful. “Congressman Tonko welcomes the support from Congressman Gibson and Congressman Welch, which is another indication of the growing bipartisan support for funding he and others have been calling for since the flooding occurred to help farmers who are struggling to recover,” Tonko spokesman Beau Duffy told Glazier. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.