Costa Joins 48 Members of California Congressional Delegation in Call for Presidential Disaster Declaration

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and 48Members of the bipartisan California Congressional Delegation, includingSenators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, have sent a letter to PresidentBush, calling on him to immediately issue a Presidential disaster declarationfor the 31 counties of Californiathat sustained damage to the state's multi-billion dollar agricultural industrycaused by extreme low temperatures.

"It is long past time for the President to take action,"Costa said, adding, "Farmers, ranchers, farm workers and communities hit hardby the freeze need the full resources of the federal government behind them nowto recover from the damage."

Other Valley Members signing the letter includingCongressmen Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced; Kevin McCarthy, R- Bakersfield; DevinNunes, R- Tulare and George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.

On January 17 the full bipartisan Congressional Delegationsent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, calling for federalassistance for the damage sustained during the crop freeze, resulting in aSecretarial Disaster Declaration for 13 of California's counties.

The full text of the letter is below:

February 9, 2007

The Honorable George W.Bush
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC

Mr. President:

As you know, beginningJanuary 11, 2007, Californiawas subjected to extreme cold temperatures, significantly damaging cropsthroughout the state. As a result, on February 2, 2007, Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger requested a Presidential disaster declaration for Alameda,Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, LosAngeles, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Riverside, Sacramento, SanBenito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara,Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba counties, asdescribed under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. StaffordDisaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. We write as members of California's bipartisanCongressional delegation to urge your approval of the Governor's request forfederal assistance.

The damage associatedwith extreme low temperatures in Californiahas been devastating to the state's multi-billion dollar agricultural industry. This freeze is especially concerning to California's $1 billion citrus industry,with provides nearly 95% of the country's fresh citrus supply. In manycases, only a small percentage of citrus crops had been harvested prior to thefreeze. As such, approximately 92 million cartons of fruit were on treesand vulnerable during this period of extreme low temperatures. TheCentral Valley Valencia crop had not even begun harvesting and 70% of thestate's lemon and mandarin crops were still on trees.

Some other cropsexperiencing significant damage include: mango, grapefruit, avocado, lettuce,broccoli, pepper, cauliflower, artichoke and celery. In short, asignificant variety of crops over a large geographic area in California were impacted. To date,damages are estimated to exceed $1.2 billion and this number is only expectedto grow as damage assessments continue statewide.

It is important to notethat these losses will not only be felt by California farmers. The economicimpacts of such a catastrophic freeze will be felt throughout the state. Thousands of hardworking farm workers and their families are now facing jobdisplacement and income loss. The Central Valleycitrus industry alone employs 12,000 workers. Unemployment related to thefreeze is expected to exceed levels experienced during the freezes of 1990-1991and 1998-1999 and many displaced workers are already seeking food, clothing,and housing assistance. Small businesses and rural communities who dependon agribusiness such as restaurants, truckers, and retail suppliers are alsobeing severely impacted and will require extensive economic assistance in orderto recover.

At this time, theCalifornia Office of Emergency Services, the California Department of Food andAgriculture and other state and local agencies are doing all they can toprovide relief. And federal agencies such as the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, the Small Business Administration and the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency have been actively assisting in the disaster recoveryprocess. However, it is clear that the magnitude of this disaster is farbeyond the resources of the state and requires the full support of the federalgovernment. Therefore, we strongly support Governor Schwarzenegger's requestfor a Presidential disaster declaration.

We appreciate yourassistance in this important matter and look forward to working with you inresponse to this disaster.

Sincerely,

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-8)

Sen. Barbara Boxer

Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Rep. Mike Thompson(CA-1)

Rep. Wally Herger(CA-2)

Rep. Daniel Lungren(CA-3)

Rep. John Doolittle(CA-4)

Rep. Doris Matsui(CA-5)

Rep. Lynn Woolsey(CA-6)

Rep. George Miller(CA-7)

Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-9)

Rep. Ellen Tauscher(CA-10)

Rep. Jerry McNerney(CA-11)

Rep. Tom Lantos (CA-12)

Rep. Pete Stark (CA-13)

Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-14)

Rep. Mike Honda (CA-15)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren(CA-16)

Rep. Sam Farr (CA-17)

Rep. Dennis Cardoza(CA-18)

Rep. George Radanovich(CA-19)

Rep. Jim Costa (CA-20)

Rep. Devin Nunes(CA-21)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy(CA-22)

Rep. Lois Capps (CA-23)

Rep. Howard "Buck"McKeon (CA-25)

Rep. David Dreier(CA-26)

Rep. Brad Sherman(CA-27)

Rep. Howard Berman(CA-28)

Rep. Adam Schiff(CA-29)

Rep. Henry Waxman (CA-30)

Rep. Xavier Becerra(CA-31)

Rep. Hilda Solis(CA-32)

Rep. Diane Watson(CA-33)

Rep. LucilleRoybal-Allard (CA-34)

Rep. Maxine Waters(CA-35)

Rep. Jane Harman(CA-36)

Rep. JuanitaMillender-McDonald (CA-37)

Rep. Grace Napolitano(CA-38)

Rep. Linda Sanchez(CA-39)

Rep. Jerry Lewis(CA-41)

Rep. Joe Baca (CA-43)

Rep. Ken Calvert(CA-44)

Rep. Mary Bono (CA-45)

Rep. Loretta Sanchez(CA-47)

Rep. Darrell Issa(CA-49)

Rep. Bob Filner (CA-51)

Rep. Duncan Hunter(CA-52)

Rep. Susan Davis(CA-53)

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