Agriculture

Today, U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin (FL-18), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Darren Soto (FL-09) and Kat Cammack (FL-03) introduced the Restore Agricultural Investment, Stability and Expansion (RAISE) Act of 2023, which would provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the standing authority to help American farmers and growers recover after natural disasters by issuing block… Read more »

Representatives Scott Franklin (FL-18) and Darren Soto (FL-09) introduced the Conservation Reserve Program Amendments Act on Thursday. This bill would protect Florida orange groves by making them eligible to enroll in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal initiative designed to protect vulnerable farmland. It creates a subprogram within… Read more »

Rep. Scott Franklin (FL-18) today announced the House passed his bill, H.R. 662, the Block Grant Assistance Act. This critical bill provides needed authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue block grants to agriculture producers devastated by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. “The Florida citrus industry is synonymous with the Sunshine State and the backbone of many… Read more »

Rep. Scott Franklin (FL-18) and Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) introduced H.R. 4162, the Land Grant Research Prioritization Act. This bill would provide land grant universities with dedicated access to existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant funding to enhance artificial intelligence (AI), mechanization and other research to develop solutions to the challenges… Read more »

Reps. Scott Franklin (FL-15) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) introduced the Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act on Thursday. This bill would aid Florida citrus growers by directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to alter the required level of sugar/solids content (Brix standard) in not-from-concentrate pasteurized orange juice from 10.5 percent weight of… Read more »

Representatives Scott Franklin (FL-15) and Darren Soto (FL-09) led a letter joined by 15 Florida colleagues urging Appropriations Committee leaders to provide disaster relief funding for our state’s citrus industry following widespread damage inflicted by Hurricane Ian. Hurricane Ian impacted 375,302 acres of Florida citrus when it made landfall in October, totaling more than 90… Read more »

Rep. Scott Franklin (FL-18), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Tuesday introduced the Block Grant Assistance Act, a critical bill to ensure the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can provide needed relief to agriculture producers devastated by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. This bill will provide the Agriculture Secretary needed authority to provide block… Read more »

Representatives Scott Franklin (FL-15) and Darren Soto (FL-09) today sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency urging reconsideration of a ban on the usage of Thiram, an important fungicide used in the cultivation of strawberries. A ban of Thiram would be devastating to the strawberry production, according to industry experts. In December, EPA proposed a ban on the usage of… Read more »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 28th, 2022 Representatives Scott Franklin (FL-15) and Salud Carbajal (CA-24), along with more than 40 bipartisan colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urging the State Department against increasing fees on H-2A temporary agricultural worker visas. The proposed increase would raise the fees from $190 to $310, presenting… Read more »