Washington, D.C.—Today, Congressman Joe Donnelly joined 63 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting assistance for the U.S. pork industry to help mitigate the effects of the economic crisis it is currently facing.

“The pork industry has fallen on hard times with both the worldwide recession and the H1N1 virus directly affecting its sales.” Donnelly said. “A helping hand for the industry right now—in the form of targeted, temporary assistance—would go a long way toward getting the industry fully back on its feet. Over 13,000 Hoosiers, many of whom live and work in north central Indiana, are employed by the pork industry. This is about our friends and neighbors and their livelihoods.”

The letter Donnelly sent asks that the United States Department of Agriculture:

•    Purchase an additional $100 million of pork for various federal food programs,
•    help the industry to combat H1N1 from passing from human to swine,
•    work with the U.S. Trade Representative to open export markets to U.S. pork.

To read a copy of the letter, click here.

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