Citrus storm relief among Scott talks with Paul Ryan

Gov. Rick Scott spent part of Friday on the phone talking about federal disaster relief amid continuing worries about the storm-ravaged citrus industry. Scott tweeted that his calls with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan included talk of hurricane relief.

“I spoke with @GovAbbott this morning about the ongoing recovery in FL and TX from Hurricanes Irma and Harvey,” Scott tweeted. “We will fight for our states to ensure a full recovery.” Additionally, Scott tweeted, “I also spoke with @SpeakerRyan today to urge him to have Congress act swiftly in approving funding for FL citrus growers to fully recover from Irma. I’m not going to stop fighting for our iconic citrus industry.”

A $44 billion disaster-relief package was introduced last month by the White House State Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and members of Florida’s congressional delegation have expressed concern the funding leaves Florida short.

Members of the congressional delegation are working to attach funding for the citrus industry and other parts of the agriculture industry to the relief package.

Florida citrus growers, who suffered nearly onethird of the estimated $2.5 billion hit suffered by the state’s agriculture industry from Hurricane Irma, are not included in the package.