DeLauro Statement on USDA Secretary Rollins’ Illegal Restriction of Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant

Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released a statement in response to United States Department of Agriculture (UDSA) Secretary Brooke Rollins illegally restricting relief funding to small and mid-sized family farms in New England, Alaska, and Hawaii:

“This grant was created to help farmers who are left behind by our inadequate farm safety net. Through no fault of their own, farmers across New England, Alaska, and Hawaii have faced devastating losses due to extreme and unpredictable weather events. When they have tried to recover funding from USDA, many specialty crop farmers often received less than half of what they needed to rebuild. 

“Now Secretary Rollins is disregarding the law that Congress passed – legislation I led at the end of last year – to ensure these small farmers have multiple options for recovery. The Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant was designed to cover a wide range of losses, including crops, timber, livestock, and infrastructure. Instead of following the law, Secretary Rollins is forcing states to make a rushed decision, without all the necessary information or parameters, that pits one essential relief program against another with no regard for how it impacts our farmers.

“This is unacceptable and a clear violation of the law as written. Secretary Rollins has a duty to administer these funds as Congress intended – not treat it as a slush fund for bureaucratic games. 

“These farmers feed our states and sustain local economies. They need relief, not to be left to pick up the pieces alone. Secretary Rollins must follow the law and ensure states have full access to disaster relief as Congress intended.”