Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement that it will soon begin providing $6 billion in relief for farmers and ranchers impacted by 2020 and 2021 natural disasters, including heat-related losses: “Last year’s historic heatwaves had sweeping impacts for farmers and ranchers across Washington state, from scorching berries on the canes to cooking shellfish alive in the water. The program USDA is rolling out tod...
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Today, President Biden signed the fiscal year 2022 appropriations package into law, which included a number of Congresswoman Suzan DelBene’s (WA-01) priorities. DelBene helped secure: $5 million for KidneyX, a program aimed at accelerating innovation, research, treatment, and preventative care for kidney disease. A requirement that the Defense Department only buy American-made anchor chain, regardless of size. Closing this loophole will help protect Washington jobs and strengthen U.S. domestic m...
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Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), and Dan Newhouse (WA-04), and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter calling on U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take all statutory eligibilities into account when distributing the $10 billion in aid to agricultural producers hit hard by extreme heat, drought, and wildfires this summer. The $10 billion in agricultural aid was included in the Exte...
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Pacific Northwest food producers stung by extreme heat will be eligible for disaster relief in a $10 billion package included in legislation now signed into law. The record-setting temperatures in late June caused losses across a broad swath of the state from oyster aquaculture operations in the Puget Sound region to fruit orchards in the Yakima Valley and potato growers in the Columbia River Basin. Several members of Washington’s congressional delegation, including Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnysid...
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Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) secured critical relief for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers impacted by recent heatwaves in the stopgap federal funding legislation that passed the House of Representatives today. The bill would fund the government until December 11, 2021, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Biden. In June, a historic heatwave with temperatures reaching as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit devastated farmers in the Pacific Northwest. In many instan...
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Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) led a bipartisan, bicameral effort to secure more relief for farmers, ranchers, and other agriculture producers in the western United States affected by historic wildfires, droughts, and extreme heat. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the lawmakers urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to open relief programs up to more producers that have lost crops and livestock to the ongoing droughts, extreme heat, and wildfires. In addition...
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Today, Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Tom Reed (NY-23), and Mike Simpson (ID-02), led a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Purdue urging support for dairy farmers facing an economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Dairy farmers need support immediately,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “We urge you (Secretary Purdue) to use your authority to provide support directly ...
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Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) released additional COVID-19 resources guides to help tribes, students, educators, and farmers navigate the benefits in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the historic $2 trillion relief package recently passed by Congress and signed into law. DelBene’s newly released guides are specific to: Agriculture K-12 Education Higher Education Tribes “Congress took historic action by passing the CARES Act and now it is incumbent upon...
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Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-08) were joined by SNAP recipients and activists for a discussion on the Trump administration’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rule changes and the effects they will have on Washingtonians. The event took place at Northwest Harvest’s SODO Community Market in downtown Seattle. DelBene and Schrier toured the market and volunteered at a check stand. Speakers at the event included Thomas Reynolds, CEO for...
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Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) made the following statement: “I am pleased that the House of Representatives has approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a deal which will support our region’s farmers, workers, and families. “This new agreement includes important provisions that will help our region’s dairy farmers, who for years have struggled to export their products to Canada. It also eliminates a rule in British Columbia that requires imported wines to be place...
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