Elmont Online

WASHINGTON -- As the House Appropriations Committee works to put together a new bill to avert a government shutdown, Capital Region lawmakers are retracing their steps and lobbying their leadership for disaster relief funding -- a sticking point last month during debate over the current temporary government funding measure.

"Following the tremendous damage done to farms by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, I have made it a priority to secure agriculture disaster relief funding in the next federal spending measure," said Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook.

In a joint statement released with Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, Gibson urged lawmakers on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to include funding for the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. Those two programs, Gibson said, could bring needed relief to farmers affected by the storms but don't have the money to do so right now.

Disaster relief funding was the central conflict in September when lawmakers were hammering out the current temporary government funding measure, which is set to expire on Nov. 18. A bill that would have provided $3.65 billion in disaster relief went down to defeat Sept. 21 when many Democrats, including Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, joined fiscally conservative Republicans in voting against it. While the opposed Republicans refused to increase disaster funding without cutting money from a Democrat-backed clean energy program, Tonko and other Democrats said the proposal contained too little disaster funding. They wanted the House to take up a funding bill the Senate had passed just prior that provided nearly $7 billion for disaster funding.

"The House legislation falls short of what our families need to rebuild their homes," Tonko said the day before that vote. "It ignores disaster relief programs at USDA that should be guiding the recovery of our farmers and rural communities, but are hamstrung by backlogs and insufficient funds. The Senate bill gets us closer to where we need to be."

Gibson said after the vote that he was "disappointed" by both Democrats and Republicans who voted that bill down.

"I will vote for any legislation we consider in the House that provides disaster relief funding," Gibson said.

The resulting compromise bill, signed by President Barack Obama Oct. 5, included $2.65 billion for disaster relief. With that measure set to expire in three weeks, however, the stage is set for lawmakers left unsatisfied last month to fight the same battle again. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Roger, R-KY, said Wednesday that another temporary measure lasting into December is likely.

This time, though, the Capital Region's lawmakers are on the same side.

"Congressman Tonko welcomes the support from Congressman Gibson and Congressman Welch, which is another indication of the growing bipartisan support for funding he and others have been calling for since the flooding occurred to help farmers who are struggling to recover," said Tonko spokesman Beau Duffy.

Tonko is also circulating a letter urging funding to the same programs backed by Gibson, on which Gibson and Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, are signatories, Duffy said.

The fInal decision on whether and how much agriculture disaster funding makes it into the next funding bill is in the hands of the 11 members of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Georgia Republican Jack Kingston.