There was still no word about a disaster-aid relief package as last week ended and frustration built. Georgia Representative Austin Scott had some choice words for the current administration about the situation. During a subcommittee meeting, Scott said, “When things are then handed off to people at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who consider the American farmer and the American farm family nothing but subsidy-sucking freeloaders, then there’s a disconnect in what is actually coming out of the administration, and what the administration is telling us that they’re going to do.”
The House passed the aid package back in January. However, the OMB at the time said it opposed the funding and cited crop insurance as being sufficient. The National Association of Farm Broadcasters reported that a few issues continue to hold up the package. Two of the big ones are President Trump’s opposition to democrats wanting more money for Puerto Rico and a request by Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby for more funding to work on harbor maintenance.