Wednesday, August 8, 2012

An Administration-Wide Response to the Drought

Throughout much of the country, communities are struggling with one of the worst droughts to strike the U.S. in decades. And President Obama has directed the federal government -- from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Army Corps of Engineers -- to provide assistance to farmers, ranchers, and small businesses wrestling with this crisis.

The President has described this as an "all-hands-on-deck response." Yesterday, he said, "We're going to continue to solicit ideas from state and local organizations, faith-based organizations, not-for-profit groups, the private sector, and most of all, the farmers and ranchers that are directly impacted, to find additional ways that we can help -- because when there’s a disaster like this, everybody needs to pull together."


President Barack Obama meets with the White House Rural Council to discuss ongoing efforts in response to the drought, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Aug. 7, 2012. Among those attending with the President were, from left, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)


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