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Washington, D.C. -
Today, the House of Representatives soundly defeated an amendment by a vote of 380-34 that would have devastated federal crop insurance and other critical components of the farm safety net. CIRB would like to thank those who voted to protect crop insurance in the farm bill.
Specifically, the amendment would have phased out the discount that farmers receive when they pay their crop insurance bill, while simultaneously phasing out the reimbursement to the private sector for efficiently and effectively delivering crop insurance to farmers. In addition, the amendment would have robbed dairy, sugar and other farmers of the safety net that allows them to compete on a level playing field with highly-subsidized foreign competitors.
"The strength of this vote shows the continued and sensible commitment by Congress to provide farmers and ranchers with responsible risk management tools," said Tara Smith, CIRB Vice President of Federal Affairs. "At a time when farm income is down more than 50 percent in the past four years, farmers simply cannot afford these draconian farm policy proposals, and we applaud those Members who voted against the amendment."
To amplify this message, the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) recently coordinated a petition of 418 farm, lending, ag input, conservation, and crop insurance and reinsurance organizations to express support for crop insurance in the farm bill and opposition to harmful amendments.
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