President Barack Obama authorized $30 million to be spent on programs for farmers and ranchers hit especially hard by a national drought that has prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare more than half of the nation's counties as federal disaster areas. This includes small business loans and a U.S. Department of Transportation program that helps commercial truck drivers provide supplies to drought areas.

The White House released a statement that "the Administration will work closely with state and local governments, farming and ranching communities and others." However, the Obama administration will not be able to work with Congress, which is taking its annual August recess. Lawmakers failed to agree on a drought relief package last week before departing Washington.