By Clint Thompson
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ testimony at the June 4 hearing with the House Committee on Agriculture included a brief discussion with Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL) about disaster assistance.
Cammack and Congressman Scott Franklin (FL-18) introduced the bipartisan Freeze Disaster Assistance Act in early June that would provide $3.5 billion in disaster assistance to aid Florida producers recover following the freeze event last January. Cammack’s question to Rollins was simple: When Congress approves that funding, how fast can you get that money out the door?
“We’ll move at warp speed. Trump speed is what we call it at USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), but we will move as quickly as humanly possible,” Rollins responded. “This team is working seven days a week and I’m so proud of them. So absolutely ‘yes.’”
Follow-Up Question
Cammack’s follow-up question centered on how the USDA can streamline and change within the agency when disaster strikes.
“I have a long history of dealing with hurricanes and freezes, and we’ve seen a lot of broken systems. What specifically are you working on that has helped streamline assistance when disaster strikes?” Cammack asked.
“I think what we have learned, what I have learned, first of all, we have an extraordinary team,” Rollins said. “When you’re working with 50 different states, with 50 different agricultural industries and needs, the back-and-forth sometimes takes a little too long. And I’ve asked the team to really come back to us for the next round to figure out how to cut out.
“I think I was going back and forth with one of the congresswomen from the Northeast, and it got a little loud. But at the end of it, there were 27 meetings between the state and our team to get to a ‘yes.’ That’s not fair to our farmers. I think we have to be fair to the taxpayers, make sure the dollars are being spent wisely.
“But we’ve just got to be more efficient on both sides, both the states and the USDA team that works this through.”