Posted October 29, 2015
House Agriculture Committee members state there will be no
cuts to the crop insurance program in the upcoming budget, according to an
AgWeb article available here.
High Plains Journal also published an article available here.
“Leadership
has heeded our concerns by agreeing to completely reverse this disastrous
provision in the upcoming omnibus,” said Michael Conaway in a prepared
statement. “Crop insurance is working as intended, and private industry
deserves to be lauded, not thrown under the bus.”
The budget proposal called for capping the rate of return on
earned premiums at 8.9% for crop insurers for 2017-2016. It would have saved
the federal government an estimated $3 billion, but potentially hurt the viability
of the federal crop insurance program and the financial health of the crop
insurance industry.
Agriculture
Committee Chairmen Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and Rep. K. Michael Conaway,
R-Texas, and Ranking Members Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, and Rep. Collin
Peterson, D-Minnesota, stood united against reopening the 2014 farm bill to
further cuts, according to High
Plains Journal.
“Farmers
and ranchers have done more than their fair share to reduce government
spending,” said Chairman Roberts.
“To target
the No. 1 priority for producers with additional cuts will undermine the
delivery of this important protection for agriculture. While congressional
leaders may sell this package as providing budget stability, it is anything but
stable for farmers and ranchers. It took years to negotiate and pass a new farm
bill. Producers have signed contracts and purchased policies. These proposals
to make further cuts to the crop insurance program were not included in the
House or Senate passed budgets, in any appropriations bills or in the
president’s budget request. Once again, our leaders are attempting to govern by
backroom deals where the devil is in the details. I will continue to oppose any
attempts to cut crop insurance funding or to change crop insurance program
policies.”
After the
House, the spending bill goes to the Senate, where the Senate Agriculture
Committee leaders have also vowed to protect the crop insurance program,
according to AgWeb.
"We
hope Senate Leadership finds a path forward soon to ensure these cuts are not
realized," said the Crop Insurance Reinsurance Bureau, National Crop
Insurance Service and American Association of Crop Insurers said in a joint
statement.
"Today's
action shows that crop insurance is truly the centerpiece of agricultural risk
management and rural America is willing to fight to maintain the crop insurance
program. Crop insurers remain committed to providing superior service to our
customers--America's farmers--who desperately need risk management tools to
deal with today's extreme weather and falling crop prices."
For more information on crop insurance programs, please
visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
