Senator Rick Scott’s (R-FL) Block Grant Assistance Act failed in the Senate by a vote tally of 43-53. The six Republicans who did not vote with the party either sided with the Democrats (voting no) or did not vote at all. The bill – which is designed to provide monetary help to Florida growers and “all U.S. agriculture producers” after natural disasters, surprisingly received no support from the Senators from Iowa – Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). However, Sen. Scott believes that there could be a more pressing issue.
Regardless, Sen. Scott said that he will not stop fighting for Florida growers despite the bill’s failure.
“As we work to get the agriculture community back on their feet from the natural disasters, I won’t stop fighting to make sure that the federal government keeps showing up,” said Sen. Scott.
He continued, “Following natural disasters in prior years, USDA has administered block grants to give states more flexibility to meet the needs of their growers and producers, but additional congressional action is needed to do that for farmers fighting now to recover from recent storms. After refusing to take action to help this community for 14 MONTHS, Biden’s Agriculture Department waited until this bill was coming up for a vote to open a ‘portal’ for growers and ranchers to apply for assistance.”
Moreover, the Florida senator would later mention that both he and his constituents “don’t trust this process or this administration.”
“Here’s the thing: my constituents don’t trust this process or this administration, and I sure don’t either. And, the assistance being offered is anything close to what’s needed for our farmers to actually recover. The House previously passed the Block Grant Assistance Act, but today the Senate Democrats again failed to advance this urgently needed bill and I can’t understand why anyone voted against it. This bill helps farmers all across the country, but let me speak for Florida: we’ve been waiting for more than a year for our farmers to get desperately needed disaster aid. Folks around the country that put food on our tables and create jobs in our states are hurting, and I won’t stop fighting to get this bill passed for them,” said Scott.
In June, the companion version of the Block Grant Assistance Act, introduced by Representative Scott Franklin (R-FL), passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives.
