Remarks by Vice President Pence During Tour with Pecan Farmers Affected by Hurricane Michael
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Office of the Vice President
REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT PENCE DURING TOUR WITH PECAN FARMERS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE MICHAEL
VICE PRESIDENT: Sonny, you want to say a word?
SECRETARY PERDUE: Well, you hear the stories and these are some of our best farmers in
You see around here these trees mature -- it's amazing what the trees -- and we don't have a good pecan crop, and we've got sweet corn on the ground. We've got facilities down, just like you just saw, right here.
And the problem is these people have peanuts -- they don't have power, nor do they have elevators to unload the peanuts, so the peanuts are going to (inaudible) in the ground if they can't get them dug and unloaded. Cotton, if it hadn't been blown away, then some of the similar problems at the (inaudible) too.
But these folks are, was you know, the heart and soul of America. And they'll be back, just like Eric and Rob. They're going to get back up, but they need our help.
VICE PRESIDENT: Great. Governor?
We're going to all work cooperatively together as we have up to this point. Still, the restoration of power is an issue. But
We are going to see the EMCs and MEAG, which is a municipal organization -- they will be coming right behind them.
So we're making real progress, considering all of the devastation. Debris removal, of course, was the first and still continues to be a big part of the problem. Had to remove some debris just in order to get the power trucks in to be able to do their work. So it's a long-term proposition, but agriculture is significantly affected, more than any other part of our economy. And this is a prime example of exactly what has occurred.
Thank you for being here.
VICE PRESIDENT: You bet. Well, thank you, Governor. And I want to thank our senators and congressmen who are with us today, and to Secretary Perdue.
Karen and I are very moved by what we've seen. When you see the violence of this storm, and the landscape, and the impact on homes in the area, I can't help but feel thankful, first and foremost, to God and to our first responders. I mean, to see old grove trees snapped like toothpicks, to see landscape swept away like it's been, it just tells me that our first responders on the ground did an incredible job with God's grace. And we're grateful to them today.
I'm really here just to assure all of you that we're going to stay with you through all of this. We know that there are traditional means of support for agriculture. And also, for disaster assistance --
But we also understand that this represents generational loss. To see these four-year-old pecan trees down, right about the time that they were getting close to producing, taking 10 years to get all the way back. And I just want to assure you that we get it. We need to do more. Hurricane Michael was a generational storm, and we're going to address it that way, working with the leaders in
And so I want to thank all of you for taking time away from what I know is a very challenging time for your operations and your families. Thank you for helping to tell the story. And I just want to assure you that we're with you and we're going to stay with you.
And for
So thank you for being here. And God bless you all, and your families.
Any questions?
SECRETARY PERDUE:
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We will. And we'll be counting on every agency in the government to do that.
Any questions for any of us or any of these attendees" Please.
Q Can we hear from the Cohens a little bit more about the losses they've sustained, and the reactions to the state and federal responses?
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Q And how has the state and federal been to this disaster?
MR.
Q Anything else you all need?
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Q What was the storm like?
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PARTICIPANT: Twenty miles west of here, where their daddy lives, it's total devastation. There's no tree standing.
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And you look on the ground, our crop -- we were literally starting to shake pecans. But it's gone.
Q This is a complete loss?
MR.
Q And how many acres?
MR.
Q I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the losses.
MR.
Q Thank you for sharing your story.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Anything else?
Q Mr. Vice President, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the deficit jumping 17 percent, if you have any comment that" Just while we're talking about the economy a little bit.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right. We finished the fiscal year. And look, this is a President that has been working to sharpen pencils in the federal government, looking for savings in appropriations, in defense appropriations.
And I can assure you that now that we have this economy growing again -- an economy, in the second quarter of this year, that grew by more than twice the rate that it grew on average over the last 16 years -- 4.2 percent growth -- that now we believe we have the momentum in the economy that, when we had fiscal responsibility and discipline to that, we're going to be able to bring that deficit down. And that will be a real focus of this administration going forward.
But everything, as the President said many times, it all begins with growth and rolling back regulations, cutting taxes, unleashing American energy, supporting American agriculture with the new trade deal that we just announced with
Agriculture has been impacted here. Families in the city and on the farm have been impacted greatly by Hurricane Michael. We're going to be there with government programs. We're going to work closely with members of
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, as the President confirmed today, the Secretary met with the Crown
Q And do you think Secretary Mnuchin shouldn't go?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Anybody else on the topic here today" We're good" Thank you all for coming out.
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