USDA tells committee disaster-relief and emergency commodity payments are rolling out; members push for faster timelines
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Summary
Secretary Rollins told the House subcommittee that USDA has begun moving emergency commodity and economic assistance payments and expects disaster relief disbursements to begin by the end of the month; lawmakers pressed for specifics on block grants and state agreements.
WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Subcommittee pressed the U.S. Department of Agriculture over timelines and administration of disaster-relief payments while the department said work to move funds is underway.
Secretary Brooke Rollins told the subcommittee that payments tied to the emergency commodity assistance program and a $10 billion economic assistance set-aside were being processed and that the department was “working to get” the remaining disaster funds out. "We have moved so quickly on ECAP. It went out in 3 months," Rollins said, adding that disaster-relief block grants required agreements with states and that those arrangements take additional administrative steps.
Why it matters: farmers across multiple regions reported losses from floods, drought and hurricanes in 2023–24, and they are awaiting federal assistance that many had counted on when making planting and recovery decisions.
Members pressed for firm dates. Rollins said the department expected disaster money to begin moving "by the end of this month" and described ongoing work to open portals, finalize state agreements and issue payments. Representative Rosa DeLauro and other members called for assurance that the $220,000,000 Farm Recovery and Support block grant and other specifically earmarked funds would be distributed as intended.
Rollins acknowledged complexity for livestock claims and said those would be handled through state-level agreements: "That's a lot more complicated because they're block grants and they have to be moved and agreed to by the states. But we are very close." She asked members to provide information about individual constituents or offices not seeing payments so USDA staff could follow up.
Context: Congress in December enacted $31 billion in disaster and economic relief for farmers and ranchers; Rollins said applications for the $10 billion economic assistance set‑aside were in process and that most payments from that tranche were already moving. The hearing included multiple requests from members representing dairy, specialty crop and small‑farm districts seeking clarity about reimbursement methods, quality‑loss adjustments and the timing of disbursements.
Next steps: Rollins said the department would publish dates for portals and agreements and urged members to forward unresolved cases to departmental staff for immediate follow-up.