Focus This Week is on Disaster Aid

A procedural vote in the Senate could come Tuesday on a disaster aid plan in the Senate. Details are uncertain just yet as there is likely some consideration being given to the heavy Midwest flooding situation. The version most recently was for $14.2 billion. A House-passed supplemental appropriations bill would authorize $3 billion in assistance for agricultural losses, largely directed at hurricane damage to crops in the Southeast last fall. But some think that the Midwest flooding will give lawmakers some pause and they will include amounts for those affected producers. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue expressed view a Midwest flooding aid should be included in any aid plan as USDA disaster assistance programs are unlikely to be sufficient.