Senator William Cowan issued remarks on the current Farm Bill, passed today by the U.S. Senate. The Farm Bill includes several measures aimed at aiding the fishing industry in Massachusetts and New England.
The following is an excerpt from a release from the Senator's office, including descriptions of measures written by the Senator affecting the fishing industry. A full version of the release can be viewed here .
Senator William "Mo" Cowan (D-Mass.) today made the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the 2013 Farm Bill by bipartisan vote of 66 to 27. A companion Farm Bill will be debated in the House of Representatives, and the two bills will be reconciled in Conference in the coming months.
"While this is not a perfect bill, I was pleased that I could help to include critical provisions for Massachusetts that will support our local and regional food producers as well as recognize and provide some relief for our fishing industry. Additionally, this legislation will go a long way in boosting our economy by creating a number of jobs across the Commonwealth and the nation," said Sen. Cowan. "Unfortunately while we were able to get much-needed support in some key areas, the final bill falls short of protecting all crucial funding for nutrition assistance that folks back home and around the country rely on every day. When the bill goes to conference we must work hard to hold the line and steer clear of the draconian cuts to the nutrition program proposed by the Republicans in the House of Representatives."
The following provisions authored by Senator Cowan were included in the bill passed by the U.S. Senate today:
Fisheries Insurance Study
This amendment directs USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) to study and propose a mechanism for insuring seafood harvesters through a USDA crop insurance product. Our fishermen are facing extremely difficult times. We need to do everything we can to help them through these difficult times, and insurance is one way to reduce risk. Our farmers have access to crop insurance; our fishermen should as well.
Fishermen as Eligible Recipients of Emergency Disaster Loans
As Senator Kerry pushed last year, this provision expands the Emergency Disaster Loan program to include fishermen. When a county has been declared a disaster area by either the President or the Secretary of Agriculture, agricultural producers in that county may become eligible for low-interest emergency disaster (EM) loans available through USDA's Farm Service Agency. EM loan funds may be used to help eligible farmers, ranchers, and aquaculture producers recover from production losses (when the producer suffers a significant loss of an annual crop) or from physical losses (such as repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed structures or equipment, or for the replanting of permanent crops such as orchards). Senator Cowan ensured that this provision was included in the 2013 Farm Bill.