Congressman Baird sends letter to President Biden and USDA, urging CFAP to resume
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Indiana District 4 Congressman Jim Baird (R-Greencastle) has written a letter to President Biden urging him and his administration to continue the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
“Farmers across the country are suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Congressman Baird said. “CFAP has been a lifeline to them and their families. It has ensured the stability of our food supply and has provided food assistance to millions of families in need. Freezing the program will only have disastrous consequences.”
Last week, the USDA announced it has suspended the processing of payments and the accepting of new applications due to the Biden administration’s recent "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review" memo.
USDA announced the additional assistance for the CFAP program on Jan. 15, which expanded CFAP eligibility for some agricultural producers and commodities (primarily making contract livestock producers eligible) and updating payments to accurately compensate some producers who already applied for earlier assistance. This additional assistance builds on about $23.6 billion in payments made available through CFAP 1 and CFAP 2 earlier signups.
America's farmers and ranchers have been significantly impacted by the pandemic and the disruptions will likely ripple for years to come. The CFAP program has been tremendously valuable in helping to stabilize and support America's family farms and agricultural producers. Under the new Additional Assistance portion of the program announced earlier this month, the USDA addresses and makes eligible some of the producers hardest hit -- contract growers who reduced population.