The steps include low-interest emergency loans to farmers affected by the drought. Obama pledges drought support

The federal government is pulling out all the stops to help farmers and ranchers struggling with severe drought conditions and the searing heat that has persisted across much of the country this summer, President Barack Obama said in a weekly address released Saturday.

“Cattle farmers are struggling to feed their animals. Many folks are seeing their livelihoods dry up in front of their eyes. And if we don’t get relief soon, Americans everywhere will start feeling the pinch, with higher prices on grocery store shelves all across the country,” Obama said. “We can’t let that happen.”


The president outlined a series of steps the government is already taking, including low-interest emergency loans to farmers and increased access to federal lands for cattle grazing.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck response, and we’ll be doing even more in the coming weeks to help families and communities that are suffering right now,” Obama said.

Obama also blamed Congress for limiting the federal response.

“Congress needs to do its part, too. They need to pass a farm bill that not only helps farmers and ranchers respond to these kinds of disasters, but also makes necessary reforms and gives them some certainty year-round. That’s the single best way we can help rural communities right now, and also in the long-term,” the president said, explicitly urging Americans to call their lawmakers and get the legislation passed.

“Too many Americans are suffering right now to let politics get in the way,” he said.

The drought crisis is something of a political distraction for Obama at a time when he’s spending many of his days in a handful of swing states that could be key to his re-election this fall. He listed five states Saturday as most hard hit by the drought — Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas. None of those is expected to be in his column in November or even be in significant doubt.

However, he mentioned twice in his address that the effects of the drought could be felt in food prices nationwide if it doesn’t abate. “At times like these, it doesn’t matter if you live in Des Moines or Detroit – we’re Americans first,” he insisted.

Much of the language in Obama’s pre-recorded statement — distributed via radio, TV and over the Internet — was nearly identical to comments he made Tuesday when he convened his “rural council” at the White House. The group is headed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and includes representatives of more than two dozen federal agencies whose work affect rural communities.

While Obama emphasized that the heat in July broke records kept for the past century, absent from his address Saturday was any broader discussion of climate change or of efforts to fight it.

So-called cap-and-trade legislation to limit carbon emissions was an early priority of the president’s administration. The legislation passed the House in 2009 but ran aground in the Senate the following year. The White House has been largely silent on the issue ever since, though officials have worked to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and to increase the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks.