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Many of the nation’s farmers were on hand for the joint introduction of a drought preparedness bill in the U.S. Senate and House before Congress recessed for August. And those farmers are hoping the momentum hasn’t been lost now that legislators are heading back to Washington to pick up business where they left it.

The bill, the National Drought Preparedness Act, would move the country from response-oriented drought assistance to a more proactive approach of preparation and planning for drought, according to Bruce Wright, a Bozeman, Mont., farmer who was on hand for the bill’s unveiling.

Introduced simultaneously as H.R. 2871 and S.B. 1474, the bill would create a national drought council administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, elevating the level of drought to give it the importance of other natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes.

The House version is sponsored by Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla, and has been referred to the subcommittee on water and power. The Senate version is sponsored by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and has been referred to the committee on agriculture, nutrition and forestry.

"Congress has passed drought assistance packages, several in the last several years, but it isn’t always available when it’s needed," Wright said. "I think this legislation will focus where assistance needs to go and get it to the people who need it worst."

Drought impacts more than the farmers in a community.

"It greatly reduces the income for all the farm and ranch families and then that ripples out," Wright said. "It affects the equipment dealers and the input dealers; it affects the small-town grocery stores; it affects the restaurants. It touches just about everybody."