Lucas, other Congressmen, request assistance to Cattle Producers

Today, Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) joined a letter led by U.S. Sentors John Thune (R-S.D.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting that he provide immediate assistance to cattle producers by using the resources provided in the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stabilization (CARES) Act, including the replenishment of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and additional emergency funding. Doing so would help facilitate the stabilization of farm and ranch income for producers who are facing market volatility in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has demonstrated the need for domestic food security,” the Members of Congress wrote. “All farmers and ranchers are vital to our country’s ability to keep food on the table in a future pandemic or related crisis, and many producers, including young producers, are often highly leveraged and cannot fall back on years of equity in a time of crisis. As such, we urge you to quickly deliver relief to producers as we work to lessen the economic impact of this pandemic.”

Thune, Cortez Masto, Johnson, Cuellar and others worked hard to ensure the CARES Act replenished the CCC and appropriated an additional $9.5 billion for USDA to assist producers, including livestock producers, throughout this crisis.