By Jessica Domel
Field Editor
A provision in the upcoming highway bill may be just the thing that saves federal crop insurance from billions of dollars in cuts.
House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway of Texas issued a statement Tuesday commending House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for their leadership in “ensuring that crop insurance continues to be available, affordable and accessible to America’s farmers and ranchers.”
By including language in the Highway Bill conference report to fully repeal a provision that was designed to kill crop insurance, the Speaker and the Majority Leader are working to keep their promise to me and to all of rural America. I also commend Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster for agreeing to include this time-sensitive repeal in the Highway Bill conference report,” Conaway said. “I hope my colleagues in Congress will lend their strong support in ensuring that the Highway Bill conference report is enacted into law and that crop insurance is saved.”
The future of federal crop insurance programs was in question this month following passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act, which included $3 billion in cuts to the programs.
At the time, Conaway and other leaders announced a deal had been struck with leadership to deal with the cuts in a later omnibus bill.
That agreement was later brought into question as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California indicated they were not part of the agreement.
The deal appeared to have been struck with retired Speaker John Boehner rather than current Speaker Paul Ryan.
After the announcement of the “deal” to save crop insurance, legislators introduced several bills in both the House and the Senate that would strip up to $24 billion from the crop insurance program–hurting farmers across the nation.
Agricultural organizations like the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) have since been talking to legislators about the importance of crop insurance in an effort to save the program.
Tuesday, both House and Senate Ag Committee chairs have announced their support for the proposal that will restore the $3 billion to crop insurance.
“I appreciate the dedication to America’s farmers shown by our leadership today in ensuring crop insurance remains the number one tool in our producers’ risk management tool box, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas said.
Roberts called the action one big step closer to nip crop insurance cuts in the bud before the cuts harmed farmers.
“Crop insurance is a critical tool used by our farmers and ranchers. The Farm Bill already made significant reforms and our farmers and ranchers need the certainty that these programs offer. That’s why Senator Roberts and I have been committed to finding a bipartisan solution that keeps the Farm Bill intact and reverses these cuts,” Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow of Michigan said.