RMFU Commends Senator Salazar for Disaster Relief Victory

Denver – Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) led the successful drive last week to make disaster relief a permanent part of the farm bill. Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) joins family farmers and ranchers in commending him for his efforts and congratulating him for his success. “Family farms and American food production are important to our safety and security as a nation, and the economic impact of natural disasters threatens the continuance of American farming. Senator Salazar has shown himself once again as a friend of the family farmer and rancher,” RMFU President Kent Peppler said.

The Senate Finance Committee passed the Heartland, Habitat, Harvest and Horticulture Act of 2007 on October 4. The tax package provides funding to create a permanent disaster assistance program to aid producers struck by weather-related disasters. Sen. Salazar, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee as well as the Finance Committee, has worked tirelessly to secure emergency disaster relief (included in the Emergency Funding bill passed in May, 2006, and in the Supplemental Appropriations bill in May, 2007). Thanks to his efforts, there will also be permanent funds to protect family farms against catastrophic losses due to natural disasters.