Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) voted to pass H.R. 5305, a critical government funding bill that includes Thompson’s legislation to reauthorize and fund the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) for 2020 and 2021 natural disasters. Thompson, whose district was hit hard by the LNU Lightning Complex and Glass Fires in 2020, first introduced his legislation in January 2021. The bill would reactivate the WHIP+ program, a critical lifeline for agricultural producers whose crops were ruined by smoke. A statement from Thompson is below.
“Our district has been devastated by fire and smoke damage repeatedly over the past few years, and as we recover, we are now in the middle of one of the worst droughts since the 1970s. These conditions are devastating for agricultural producers whose crops were ruined by smoke, which is why I’ve been working all year to pass my bill that reactivates the WHIP+ program and provides critical payments to farmers to offset those losses. I’m glad that this bill was included in the government funding legislation the House passed today and I’ll work to ensure it becomes law to help agricultural producers in our district and across the nation working to recover from devastating natural disasters.”
Thompson introduced the WHIP+ Reauthorization Act in January 2021 with bipartisan support from Members of Congress up and down the West Coast in districts hit hard by disasters. The bill was then marked up and advanced by the House Agriculture Committee in July 2021.