U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) successfully obtained funding in the recently passed spending bill to provide assistance to farmers facing financial challenges in the state.
Rosa DeLauro holds the position of the leading Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
In the bill, she managed to incorporate a dedicated block grant for small and midsized specialty farms in New England, Hawaii, and Alaska. These farms had been facing difficulties in accessing federal agricultural relief aid. This provision in the bill effectively prevented a government shutdown.
“There were things in it Republicans liked that Democrats would have preferred to leave out. But that is the nature of government spending bills, they require compromise, which we accomplished,” she said in her closing remarks on the Continuing Resolution on Friday.
In response to a destructive hailstorm that lasted for 13 minutes on August 26, DeLauro created a provision. The storm caused significant damage to multiple farms in Connecticut, including William Dellacamera’s farm in Northford.
Dellacamera’s insurance coverage for the farm only assisted him in recovering less than half of the $400,000 he lost.