U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined a bicameral call for continued investment in socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers, many of whom have been hit hard by the pandemic and are in need of direct support.
In a letter to the USDA, Senator Gillibrand, alongside her colleagues Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Tom Udall (D-NM) and Representative Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), expressed concerns over the Trump administration’s decision to divert funding away from the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers program (2501 program) and instead redirect this year’s 2501 appropriations to the newly created Centers for Community Prosperity (CCP) initiative.
