Category: Americas

During remarks to the Georgia NAACP’s 82^nd State Convention, Senator Reverend Warnock joined a session on Hurricane Helene to provide an update on federal response and recovery efforts in Georgia’s impacted counties

Senator Reverend Warnock detailed steps he and his office have taken since the storm’s landfall to help provide support and supplies to Georgians

Senator Reverend Warnock highlighted his efforts to push senior officials in Washington to do everything immediately possible to assist Georgians in their recovery, including urging his colleagues in Congress to pass additional disaster relief legislation

Senator Reverend Warnock also spoke extensively about his focus on helping Georgia’s farmers impacted by the storm, following his long efforts to secure supplemental disaster relief for Georgia’s farmers

Senator Reverend Warnock: “I know that we have a lot of work to get done in Washington before the end of the year, but making sure Georgians and communities across the South ravaged by the storm get the relief they need is of paramount importance”

Senator Reverend Warnock: “We have been through tough times before, and I believe that if we stick together, we can create what Dr. King called the beloved community — a society where regardless of race, creed, or background, people are treated with dignity and respect, where we all can have what we need in order to prosper”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) provided an update on federal efforts to help Georgia families and communities in need recover from the damaging impacts of Hurricane Helene during remarks to the Georgia NAACP’s 82^nd Annual Convention, held virtually due to the storm’s devastating effects across large swaths of the state. The Senator detailed steps he and his office have taken since the storm’s landfall to help provide support and supplies to Georgians, as well as his efforts to push senior officials in Washington to do everything immediately possible to assist Georgians in their recovery, including urging his colleagues in Congress to pass additional disaster relief legislation.

The Senator also spoke extensively about his focus on helping Georgia’s farmers impacted by the storm, following his long efforts to secure supplemental disaster relief for Georgia’s farmers, many of whom have been economically battered by multiple recent severe weather events and historic discrimination from USDA. The Senator closed his remarks by encouraging the attendees to stay focused on making their voices heard as they continue working to recover from the storm and pledging his enduring support for the Georgia NAACP in their shared work to advance justice in Georgia.

Senator Warnock and his office have been active in Georgia’s Hurricane Helene response efforts from the beginning, visiting both Augusta and Ray City following the storm to deliver needed supplies and survey storm damage; making frequent contact with elected officials, hospital leaders, and other community leaders to address urgent needs and provide support; launching a new web clearinghouse of Federal and state hurricane recovery assistance and resources across the state; and advocating for swift congressional approval of additional federal disaster relief for impacted families and communities, especially Georgia’s farmers.

Key excerpts from Senator Reverend Warnock’s remarks:

“I was in Augusta right after the storm hit. I wanted to get down there and see for myself. And so I got a chance to meet with a number of elected officials, several of the mayors in the surrounding area. I met with faith leaders. My team and I met with community members. We met with volunteers at various churches who are just standing up and standing in their faith and looking out for their neighbors. And so as I take stock of what I saw, please know that I and my brother in the Senate, I call him my brother from another mother, Senator Jon Ossoff, and I are working around the clock to do everything that we can to make sure that Washington, D.C., that our federal government, is responding in all of the ways that it can to help people in need.”

“Early projections show more than $6 billion dollars in damages to Georgia’s agriculture and forestry industries. And as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I know that our farmers already have a tough job and they’ve been waiting on a Farm Bill.”

“It is critical that Congress passes supplemental disaster funding legislation to help our farmers, to help our families, and to help our communities get through this crisis.”

“So as quickly as Georgians came together to help one another after the storm, I’m going to keep pushing Congress, pushing Congress to act with that same experience and with that same sense of urgency to help our farmers, as well as our impacted families and communities all over Georgia come out of this crisis.”

See below a transcript of Senator Reverend Warnock’s full remarks:

“Well, hello, Georgia!

“Good morning, everybody! It’s great to be joining you for your 82^nd annual state convention.

“I come as a United States Senator, but also as Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. I’m mindful of Ebenezer’s role as its second pastor and the maternal grandfather of Martin Luther King Jr, Reverend Dr. A.D. Williams was an early founder and participant in the Georgia NAACP.

“I know that this event was originally supposed to be in Augusta, and the folks in the area and all over our state are reeling from the impact of Hurricane Helene. Please know that you are in our prayers and our hearts and our efforts in every way will continue to be with you.

“Let me take this moment to thank your president, Gerald Griggs. It is great to be here with you. Your leadership is always important, but moments like this underscore the singular importance of leadership and leaders who put the people first and center the people. So thank you for the work that you do every single day.

“I was in Augusta right after the storm hit. I wanted to get down there and see for myself. And so I got a chance to meet with a number of elected officials, several of the mayors in the surrounding area. I met with faith leaders. My team and I met with community members. We met with volunteers at various churches who are just standing up and standing in their faith and looking out for their neighbors.

“I also spent time in Ray City near Valdosta. I was there with President Biden a few days ago and surveying the ways in which that community of farmers in particular have been impacted by the storm.

“I saw, of course, farmers of color and witnessed firsthand the mangled trees bringing down power lines, crashed into the houses, the blocked roads, families lined up for food and for water.

“The stillness of towns that are without gas or power, pecan trees and other crops damaged beyond repair. I also sent my church team and outreach ministry to rural Georgia, and they’ve been doing the work. This is a moment where we need all hands on deck.

“And so as I take stock of what I saw, please know that I and my brother in the Senate, I call him my brother from another mother, Senator Jon Ossoff, and I are working around the clock to do everything that we can to make sure that Washington, D.C., that our federal government is responding in all of the ways that it can to help people in need.

“I’m glad that the President has responded. He acted quickly to declare Georgia to be in a state of emergency. He then put forward a declaration for a — there’s a disaster site which then releases other kinds of federal resources for individuals and communities recovering from the storm. And I’ve already worked with him to ensure that the federal government will shoulder 100%, 100% of debris removal and emergency protective measures all across Georgia.

“So we’ll be working. We’ll continue to make sure that we are unleashing all of the resources that are available. And this is the work that I’m deeply honored to do as a voice for Georgia. I’ll continue pushing to make sure all of the counties impacted by the storm are getting the help that they need from the federal government, both in the short term and in the long term. It is critical. It is critical that Congress passes supplemental disaster funding legislation to help our farmers, to help our families, and to help our communities get through this crisis.

“Early projections show more than $6 billion dollars in damages to Georgia’s agriculture and forestry industries. And as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I know that our farmers already have a tough job and they’ve been waiting on a Farm Bill. We’ve got to get the Farm Bill. And just as an aside, the Farm Bill contains resources and provisions both for the agricultural community but also the Farm Bill deals with the nutritional needs of the most marginalized members of our community. So resources for the farming community and benefits like SNAP are all in the same bill. They come out of that committee, and we are well overdue for passing the Farm Bill, which comes up every five years.

“Know that I will remain engaged on that. I’ve been fighting for a long time to help direct more federal resources to Georgia’s farmers, who’ve had to overcome so many challenges. Our Black farmers have had to deal with historic discrimination, on top of the back-to-back severe weather events. And that’s why I’m glad that after working for many years, that earlier this year, we were finally, finally able to provide roughly 137 million dollars in historic relief for Black farmers and other farmers in Georgia who had experienced discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“It was to help many of these farmers need it to make their operations profitable or even to keep their farms. So many of these same farmers that we’ve helped with this historic relief are now in areas that were hard hit by Hurricane Helene, and so they’ve experienced challenge after challenge, and it’s going to be very difficult. It’s going to take a lot of intentionality and support by all of us to make sure that they recover and that they are made whole. These extreme weather events are kicking them when they are low, but know that we will keep fighting to help them back up.

“So as quickly as Georgians came together to help one another after the storm, I’m going to keep pushing Congress, pushing Congress to act with that same experience and with that same sense of urgency to help our farmers, as well as our impacted families and communities all over Georgia come out of this crisis. We know that Black and brown communities, we know that marginalized communities that are already struggling suffered disproportionately in the wake of these kinds of events. And so we will remain focused on centering people.

“I know that we have a lot of work to get done in Washington before the end of the year, but making sure Georgians and communities across the South ravaged by the storm get the relief they need is of paramount importance. These types of events put into sharp relief the importance of competent leadership in a crisis. And that’s what is so very important, is so important, is so important that we make our voices heard, not just in the street or online, but at the ballot box. We have to make our voices heard.

“Tell your friends like la-di-da and everybody, tell them that a like on Facebook doesn’t count as a vote. Check them a little hard on Instagram without a vote. And so we make our voices heard in those spaces. But we got to show up in a moment like this. We are witnessing the importance and the difference that leadership makes in real time. We’re seeing the contrast between those who are focused on people and delivering services and those who will do anything if it advances their short-term ambitions.

“So I know the people attending this convention already know the stakes. I know that you are already planning to make your voices heard, but this is an all hands on deck moment. We’ve got to speak directly to all of our people. This is a time for all of everything we care to prevent a rollback of our rights and of the freedoms we fought for, the gains we’ve made in growing Black businesses, growing Black wealth, investing at our historically Black colleges and universities. We’ve invested some $16 billion over the last four years historic investments, $16 billion in historically Black colleges and universities. We’ve done $170 billion, $170 billion in student debt relief. We know that this disproportionately helps communities that have struggled and suffered from historic discrimination. And so this is work that we have to do for ourselves, for our future, and for our children.

“We have to remain focused, even in the aftermath of this hurricane. And we have to do everything we can to make sure that our people can show up and that their voices will be heard. These are tough times, but I remain deeply hopeful and optimistic. We have been through tough times before, and I believe that if we stick together, we can create what Dr. King called the beloved community, a society where regardless of race, creed, or background, people are treated with dignity and respect, where we all can have what we need in order to prosper.

“So as your voice as a United States Senator from Georgia, please know that I will continue to do my part and know that I’m so very, very proud to stand alongside all of you. Thank God for the NAACP, our oldest and largest civil rights organization. Thank you for the work that you do. I’m glad to be in this fight with you. Thanks so much.

“Keep the faith.”