CLEWISTON, Fla. – Today, as the Senate begins drafting the upcoming Farm Bill, Senator Rick Scott visited Clewiston, Florida and joined Congressman Scott Franklin and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Wilton Simpson for a discussion on the issues facing the Florida agricultural industry and growers across the Sunshine State. Senator Scott continues to fight for Florida’s agriculture industry in Washington through the upcoming Farm Bill and other legislation to make sure these hardworking individuals and businesses have the support they need to thrive and keep Fresh from Florida products on tables across the nation.

Earlier this week, Senator Scott introduced his Federal Disaster Responsibility Act to provide emergency relief for natural disasters, following the devastating landfall of major Category 3 Hurricane Idalia in Florida’s Big Bend. This bill will ensure Florida families, agricultural communities and all Americans facing hardships following natural disasters are taken care of. Senator Marco Rubio joined as a cosponsor of the bill and Congresswoman Kat Cammack is leading the companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Florida’s agriculture industry is known around the world and the success of our state wouldn’t be possible without our growers and ranchers. Unfortunately, things are tough for hardworking families in our state right now as prices keep rising and natural disasters cause mass losses of crops and livestock. I know Florida’s agricultural communities have been laser focused on hurricane recovery following Hurricanes Ian and Idalia—and I'm fighting to make sure they get all the disaster relief they deserve. I’m working on several bills, like my Federal Disaster Responsibility Act, to help support our growers and ranchers and ensure our Florida agriculture industry has all the resources and help it needs to recover from the many challenges they have faced in the last several years. I’ve been fighting to support Florida’s agricultural community and will continue to do so by securing big wins for our growers and ranchers in the Farm Bill that make sure the federal government is a partner, not another layer of burdensome bureaucracy. I want to thank Commissioner Simpson for his efforts in Florida and support of my Federal Disaster Responsibility Act. We must continue working together with our local, state and federal partners to ensure all Floridians get the assistance they deserve.”

Senator Scott’s Federal Disaster Responsibility Act includes:

·       Fully funding the immediate needs of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund with at least $16.5 billion to ensure the federal government can uphold its obligation to quickly deploy emergency funding and resources to communities and Americans impacted by natural disasters. This exceeds what the Biden administration has said is needed to respond to recent disasters, including those in Florida and Hawaii.

·       Ensuring final passage of the bipartisan Block Grant Assistance Act which provides needed authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue block grants to Florida’s citrus growers, Georgia’s peach growers and all U.S. agriculture producers devastated by natural disasters in 2022.

·       Securing final passage of an expanded version of the Hurricane Tax Relief Act, which takes care of Americans impacted by disasters by providing disaster-loss tax relief to families who have been impacted by qualified disasters for purposes of enhanced disaster casualty loss tax relief. This would apply across the nation and include relief for taxpayers in Hawaii, California, Illinois, Florida and others. This bill modifies the deduction for personal casualty losses in the hurricane disaster areas, waiving the requirements for impacted taxpayers to itemize deductions and to have losses that exceed 10% of adjusted gross income. Congress previously extended this tax relief for hurricanes Irma, Wilma, Dorian, and Michael, amongst others.

·       Committing necessary funds and resources to Florida’s military installations to fully rebuild and recover from hurricane damage.

###