U.S. Congresswoman Cindy Axne

U.S. Representative for Iowa’s Third District Cindy Axne (D) has applauded the successful inclusion of assistance for agricultural producers in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) that was signed into law.

The Agriculture Committee member wrote to the bipartisan leadership of both the U.S. House and Senate to urge them to give the Department of Agriculture maximum flexibility to assist farmers and producers during the COVID-19 outbreak. Axne thanks Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D) for fighting hard to include farmers in this bill, “We know that they are in grave positions right now that we needed to act. So this replenishes the Commodity Credit Corporation which has funded the last two rounds of what are called market facilitation plan payments so that we can shore up our ag industry. Right now that CCC is nearing its borrowing limit so this allowed us to get funds into that so that we could replenish the CCC and then get funding out to our ag community so that they could survive in this really difficult time.”

The CARES Act specifically includes $14 billion to replenish the CCC, with an additional $9.5 billion for specialty crop and livestock producers.