Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack En Route Tallahassee, FL

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Tallahassee, Florida

11:20 A.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right, we can do this really quickly.

So, today, we’re going — we’re on our way to Florida and Georgia, where the president will s- — will further survey damage caused by Helene and meet with state and local leaders regarding ongoing response efforts.

The president will participate in an aerial tour of the affected areas on his way to Perry, Florida. On the ground, the president will then visit the Keaton Beach community and receive an — an operational briefing.

From there, the president will head to Valdosta, Georgia, followed by a visit to the f- — to the rural community of Ray City, where he will meet with residents and local business owners who are trying to move forward in the wake of this disaster.

The president spoke with Governor Kemp this morning to discuss disaster response operations and other — and offer further support as needed.

The president and his entire administration will continue to do everything in our power to help the people of Florida, Georgia, and every community affected by this storm.

Yesterday, we announced that the president approved 100 percent federal cost share for emergency response a- — activities in Florida and Georgia, as well as Tallahassee [Tennessee] and North Carolina. This means that the federal government will cover 100 percent of the costs associated with things like debris removal, first responders, search and rescue, shelters, and mass — and mass — and mass feeding.

This latest announcement builds the president’s previously approved requests for major disaster declarations from the governors of Florida and Georgia, which unlocked additional assistance for residents on their road to recovery.

As a result, the pres- — the Biden-Harris administration has provided nearly $4 million directly to individuals and families in need of critical financial assistance.

Still, we know there is more work to be done. And we will be here, doing that work, for as long as it takes.

As you can see, I have Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack standing next to me here to discuss what assistance the U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing to help people in Florida and Georgia, including farmers and rural communities.

And with that, go ahead, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY VILSACK: Okay, thanks very much.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Just hold on tight. (Laughs.)

SECRETARY VILSACK: Obviously at USDA, our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who have been impacted by this storm. Our job, obviously, is to try to keep farms viable and operational, to basically get as much help as quickly as possible to as many people as possible.

Let me start by, first of all, recognizing the stress that a lot of the farmers are under and the important role that we think the Farm Stress line — Hotline provides for farmers who are in trouble. Going to give you one — a telephone number for folks to call if they’re feeling a little bit stressed out to get some help. It’s 883-381-7243. 883-381-7243. In addition to that Stress Line, obviously we’ve got a number of programs.

When people think of the Department of Agriculture, they normally think of the crop insurance programs and risk management tools. We’ve given instructions to our crop insurance carriers to expedite, as quickly as possible, the loss adjustments that are necessary to make payments. Many of these farmers, particularly in the Southeast, have exercised the additional coverage for hurricane and wind damage. We expect and anticipate under those coverages, hopefully, payments can be made within 30 days. That is consistent with the president’s instruction to try to get folks as much help as possible, as quickly as possible.

In addition to the risk management tool for crops, we have a variety of other programs — programs that help repair structures and fences, programs that help eliminate soil erosion, programs that help remove debris, programs that will pay for the loss of livestock. This is particularly true in Georgia, where you’ve got a lot of contract poultry facilities where poultry houses have been destroyed by the — by the — by the storm. So we’re going to be there to try to provide help and assistance to get those fact — get those folks back on their feet. Help with feed for livestock if you have to travel an extended distance to get feed because of the storm.

There are a lot of uninsured losses, and there are programs to make sure that those uninsured losses are also covered.

And also there are obviously damage to trees and forest in the area. We have programs to assist in that area as well.

So, that’s on the farm side.

We’re expediting — we’re — we’re sending search teams or will send search teams into the counties where we’ve seen the most damage and most impact so that the — the farmers can go into their county office, get the k- — help, assistance, and direction that they need to be able to make application for whatever program fits their — fits their need and their losses.

I want to also say that part of our job is obviously to coordinate with FEMA. We have over 190 folks from USDA that are currently at the regional center in Atlanta or in the D.C. headquarters working collaboratively with FEMA to make sure that we’re coordinating and collaborating.

I would also say that we’re investing in rural communities. When we get to the recovery stage after we’ve assessed damage and try to triage things, we’ll begin working with communities in terms of housing, housing repair, water and wastewater treatment facilities that need repair, electric lines that need repair. We’ll be there to provide help and assistance through programs.

And we also have, obviously, a food assistance responsibility. We’ve already provided these — these states with flexibility in terms of child nutrition programs and senior nutrition programs, in terms of the types of meals they can serve, and — and the location of those meals.

And obviously, any governor who requests disaster SNAP assistance will get it from the department as quickly as we possibly can get it.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. We don’t have that much time. But go ahead, Darlene.

Q Could you talk a little bit about what is being done to — there was a story on the radio this morning about bananas being stuck at one of the ports. And, you know, th- — they only last so long. Is there anything being done to get food that’s stuck at ports out and — perhaps to places like Asheville that have been affected by the storm?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, the — a lot of what we’re talking about in terms of the ports are in containers. And so, it’s going to be difficult to get to the containers based on the fact that there’s a work stoppage there.

That’s why the president has urged the shippers, in particular, to focus on getting this thing resolved and making sure that the collective bargaining system works. That’s the most effective way of getting the bananas to wherever they need to go.

And hopefully, the shippers will come to the table, union will come to the table, collective bargaining will work, and we’ll get this thing resolved quickly.

Q Secretary Vilsack, you know, we’ve just gone through a period of pretty intense inflation that affected food prices. To what extent are you concerned that the kind of double whammy of the port strike and this — this really large-scale hurricane are going to exacerbate the kind of pressures on food prices that we saw that are just, you know, abating now?

SECRETARY VILSACK: The current food inflation rate at grocery stores is around 1 percent, which is about half the 20-year average. So, it is good to see that it has come down.

At this point, a short labor stoppage at — at the ports should have minimal impact and effect on prices. Obviously, if we’re talking about a longer situation of duration, that may have an impact. But at the end of the day, that’s why the president has been so forceful in suggesting people need to get to the table and then get — get this resolved.

This is the first strike in 50 years. These people know how to get to “yes.” They just need to get to “yes.”

Q Can you define —

Q Can you tell us what the impact has been —

Q I’m sorry, wait. Can you define, please, what you mean by “shorter” and “longer”?

SECRETARY VILSACK: Well, the hope would be that this thing ends tomorrow. All right? That would be short.

The re- — the reality is our assessment is, if this lasts a couple of weeks, we’re not talking about a significant disruption. If you get into months, then, obviously, that’s a situ- — a different situation, which we’ll cover it when — when and if that occurs.

Q Can you tell us what the impact on American farmers in terms of their exports? You know, how much runway is there for —

SECRETARY VILSACK: Most of our exports go through the West Coast. It’s about $90 million on a — on a daily basis —

MILITARY AIDE: I’m so sorry. We’re about to land, and it’s going to be a very quick stop.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay.

SECRETARY VILSACK: The — the biggest impact is on imports.

Q Karine —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I am so sorry, guys.

Q — very quickly on the student loan debt. There was a Georgia judge that just is letting it expire. Do you have any reaction to that? It’s —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to — to get into that.

Q Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

I’m — it’s an ongoing matter, so I can’t get into that at this time. So, I’m just — I’m not going to get into the litigation.

Q Is he meeting with Kemp? Is he meeting with DeSantis while he’s there, please?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. DeSantis is not going to be there, but we have been in touch with his team. We understand that he has other areas to survey today, so — but we have been in touch with his team.

As you know, the president has been committed — a full — a full administration, all the agencies are han- — all hands on deck in trying to make sure that we deal with the — the devastation that we’re seeing. You saw the president yesterday in North Carolina and South Carolina, the vice president in Georgia. And now we’re going to Florida — Florida and Georgia ourselves.

And so, the governor can speak for his travel today, but he won’t be there. But, obviously, we’ve been in touch with his —

Q (Inaudible) about Governor Kemp as well?

Q (Inaudible.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we — look, we — the president spoke to Governor Kemp this morning. He won’t be there, but we obviously are inviting them. They are welcome to join us. And we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we give — give some relief to folks on the ground, to Americans on the ground dealing with this disaster.

Q Has he spoken —

Q He spoke to Governor Kemp. Has he spoken to Governor DeSantis?

AIR FORCE ONE CREW MEMBER: If you could just please take your seats. (Inaudible.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. Sorry, guys.

Q Has he spoken to DeSantis?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have a call to — to read out.

Q Has he spoken to Governor Kemp again today?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We just spoke to Governor Kemp, as I said at the top.

I’m sorry, guys. We got to sit.

11:30 A.M. EDT