Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), demanding answers as to when Georgia farmers can expect to receive hurricane relief funding.
The Hurricane Helene relief package was passed over a year ago, in December 2024, and includes $21 billion for the Southeast region of the country. The State of Georgia is set to receive $531 million in the form of a block grant, allowing it to decide how the funding is allocated.
However, the agreement between the USDA and the State of Georgia has yet to be finalized, leaving farmers in a state of limbo. What’s more frustrating is that they have been able to apply for relief, but have no way of knowing when it will arrive.
The Inquiry
In the letter, Sen. Ossoff expressed his frustration at this delay and pointed out how this aid was approved less than 90 days after Hurricane Helene. To him, it’s unacceptable for such a delay to occur.
“It’s now been over a year since the United States Senate passed $21 billion in agricultural disaster funding, which we accomplished fewer than 90 days after Hurricane Helene devastated farmers in Georgia and across the Southeast,” Ossoff argued. “Yet today, Georgia farmers are unacceptably still waiting for a block grant agreement to be finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”
According to the senator, the USDA also testified during an Appropriations Committee hearing in May 2025 that block grant negotiations would be finalized “very, very quickly.” He suggested that it was an empty promise.
Ossoff pointed out how Georgia is the only state remaining in the Southeast that has yet to receive its allocated aid.
The letter concludes with Ossoff affirming that Georgia is indeed ready and there is no reason for delay. “Within one week, please provide my office with an update on when USDA will finally sign the block grant agreement to disburse this Federal relief to Georgia farmers,” he concluded.
