The U.S. Senate gave the preliminary go-ahead for a $36.5 billion disaster relief package on Tuesday, but financial aid for one of the hardest hit areas -- Florida’s agriculture industry -- was left out of the measure.
National lawmakers advanced the bill on a procedural vote Monday evening with a full vote expected later Tuesday.
The measure would give nearly $19 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency which is quickly running out of funds as it grapples with multiple natural disasters in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.
The fund replenishment comes on the heels of FEMA’s announcement it would send around $500 million to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
Florida requested $27 billion for recovery efforts after Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Sunshine State last month, but the new measure leaves out money requested by the Florida congressional delegation to help Floridians get their feet back on the ground.
As a result, the state’s agriculture industry, too, won’t be receiving federal money through the newly-passed bill.
Preliminary estimates found the state’s agriculture industry suffered a $2.5 billion loss from the storm, which brought high-speed winds, heavy rains and flooding. The Florida citrus industry was heavily-hit, with preliminary estimates finding the storm devastated the state’s largest agricultural industry with nearly $761 million worth of damage.
The citrus industry is important to Florida, which is the nation's leader in orange juice production. Worldwide, Florida ranks second to Brazil in orange production, with the citrus industry pumping over $8 billion to the state each year.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam said he was let down by the fact that the current disaster relief package didn’t include money for Florida’s agriculture industry.
““I’m disappointed that the current disaster relief legislation does not include much-needed support for Florida’s agriculture industry, despite strong and unified support by Florida’s congressional delegation,” Putnam said in a statement.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., had sought to add $3 billion in immediate agriculture assistance to the bill, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rejected the idea, saying money for the agriculture industry would be doled out in subsequent measures.
"I hope he knows the Senate remains committed to doing its part to support the ongoing hurricane relief efforts,” McConnell said. “We all see this as a multistage process. ... There will be additional rounds, and we are all fully committed to meeting the needs that have arisen as a result of these devastating hurricanes.”
Though the storm hit over a month ago, recovery efforts for Florida could take months or longer. Last week, the Food for Florida Disaster Food Assistance Program opened up to provide food benefits for those applying after the hurricane.
The program is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Though the initial costs of the storm are staggering, Putnam said the state wouldn’t back down from the challenge of rebuilding Florida’s agriculture industry piece by piece.
“We’re going to do everything within our power to support Florida agriculture as it recovers from Hurricane Irma’s devastation,” Putnam said.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
