Booker, Warnock, Schumer Urge USDA to Quickly Provide Assistance to Distressed Farmers

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to rapidly implement the funding authorized under Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law by President Biden last month. This provision authorizes payments to distressed farm loan borrowers whose agricultural operations are at financial risk.

The Senators also urged the USDA to quickly carry out another provision of the IRA which provides financial assistance for farmers who have suffered discrimination in USDA farm lending programs.

“Thousands of USDA borrowers are struggling to make ends meet and are barely holding on to their farms, and it is critical that USDA provide assistance to these farmers prior to the expiration of the current USDA foreclosure moratorium,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Now that Congress has provided USDA these critical resources, it is our expectation that distressed farmers with USDA direct and guaranteed loans will be able to remain on their land.”

The Senators also urged the USDA “to quickly begin the selection process for non-governmental entities to administer Section 22007 of the IRA, which will provide much needed financial assistance to Black farmers and others who have suffered discrimination through USDA’s farm lending programs.”

The full text of the letter can be found here. The full text of the Inflation Reduction Act can be found here.