HRES 493 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Agriculture should provide timely assistance to Texas farmers and livestock producers who are experiencing worsening drought conditions.
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Agriculture should provide timely assistance to Texas farmers and livestock producers who are experiencing worsening drought conditions.
Summary
House Resolution 493 expresses the sense of the House of Representatives regarding drought conditions in Texas and calls on the Secretary of Agriculture to take specific actions to assist farmers and livestock producers. Recommended actions include streamlining the drought declaration process, ensuring adequate staffing at Farm Service Agency offices for disaster loan assistance, coordinating with the Forest Service on firefighting preparations, and authorizing temporary use of conservation reserve program land for haying and grazing. The resolution also calls for the Department of Agriculture to develop an emergency plan to help prevent wildfires and address the drought's economic effects. The resolution cites widespread drought conditions affecting Texas agriculture and significant estimated economic losses.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Actions (7)
- Jul 2, 1998 Referred to the Subcommittee on Risk Management and Specialty Crops. · house
- Jul 2, 1998 Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry, Resource Conservation and Research. · house
- Jul 2, 1998 Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities. · house
- Jul 2, 1998 Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. · house
- Jul 2, 1998 Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture. · house
- Jun 24, 1998 Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. · house
- Jun 24, 1998 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 1998
Mr. Thornberry submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Agriculture should provide timely assistance to Texas farmers and livestock producers who are experiencing worsening drought conditions.
Whereas drought conditions continue throughout the State of Texas, and the National Weather Service has reported that all 10 climatic regions in Texas have received below average rainfall from March through May, a critical time in the production of corn, cotton, sorghum, wheat, and forage crops in Texas; Whereas the statewide economic impact of the drought on Texas agriculture could be more than $1,700,000,000 in losses, according to the Texas Agricultural Extension Service; Whereas the direct loss of income to agricultural producers in Texas is $517,000,000, which will lead to a loss of another $1,200,000,000 in economic activity for the state; Whereas the total losses for Texas cotton producers have already reached an estimated $157,000,000; Whereas, as of May 31, 1998, the condition of nearly half of the rangeland in Texas was rated as poor or very poor as a result of the lack of rain; Whereas the value of lost hay production in Texas will approach an estimated $175,000,000 statewide, leading to an economic impact of $582,000,000; Whereas dryland fruit and vegetable production losses in East Texas have already been estimated at $33,000,000; Whereas the early rains in many parts of Texas produced a large quantity of forage that, because of the subsequent drought conditions, is now extremely dry and a dangerous source of fuel for wildfires; and Whereas the Texas Forest Service has indicated that over half of the State is in extreme or high danger of wildfires due to the drought conditions: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that, with regard to the drought conditions in the State of Texas, the Secretary of Agriculture should—
(1) streamline the drought declaration process to provide relief to Texas farmers and livestock producers as quickly as possible;
(2) ensure that Farm Service Agency offices in Texas are equipped with full-time and emergency personnel in drought- stricken areas to assist producers with disaster loan application packages;
(3) instruct the United States Forest Service to assist the State of Texas and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in prepositioning fire fighting equipment and other appropriate resources in affected Texas counties;
(4) authorize haying and grazing on acreage enrolled in the conservation reserve program; and
(5) convene experts within the Department of Agriculture to develop and implement an emergency plan to help prevent wildfires and to overcome the adverse economic impact of the continuing drought so the Department of Agriculture can provide assistance in a rapid and efficient manner for producers who are suffering from drought conditions. <all>
Comments