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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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Groups Opposed to Administration's Proposed Crop Insurance Cuts
USAgNet - 02/12/2016
On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled his FY 2017 budget request, which kicks off the FY 2017 appropriations process in Congress. Cabinet secretaries are now in the process of testifying before Appropriations Subcommittees in the House and Senate to
discuss their budget justifications. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack appeared on Thursday before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to defend the budget request for the Department of Agriculture. Those subcommittees will then work to draft
and consider their own appropriations bills.
Within the realm of agriculture, the budget request includes a significant increase in funding for USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. Specifically, the Administration's proposal nearly doubles funding for AFRI to the Farm Bill-authorized level of
$700 million, allocating $375 million in discretionary spending and $325 million in mandatory funding.
In addition to a significant investment in agricultural research, the request includes full funding for conservation programs. Furthermore, to lay the foundation for the hopeful elimination of the Cuban embargo, the Administration requests funding to place five
USDA employees at the new embassy in Cuba to promote American agricultural products.
Unfortunately, the Administration is once again proposing severe cuts to crop insurance. Specifically, the budget would cut $18 billion over ten years by reducing the premium subsidy for policies with the Harvest Price Option (HPO) by ten percentage points
and by reducing the subsidy for particular prevented planting options. The National Association of Wheat Growers says the Administration has proposed similar cuts in the past, which have been rejected by Congress. However, the inclusion of this provision
continues to underscore the need for grassroots engagement by farmers across the country to defend the crop insurance program and Title 1 during the upcoming appropriations process.
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