Action Needed: Please Call Your Members of Congress and Voice Your Opposition to Cuts to the Crop Insurance Program
It is confirmed that significant crop insurance cuts will be part of a budget agreement between the White House and Congress that will raise the debt ceiling and establish the federal budget for the next two years. A vote on the budget which includes these cuts will take place tomorrow, please call ASAP. Action Needed: Please call your Senators and Representative and ask them to oppose any cuts to the Federal Crop Insurance Program and any policy changes to crop insurance. Senator Klobuchar - (202) 224-3244 Senator Franken - (202) 224-5641 Congressman Walz - (202) 225-2472 Congressman Kline - (202) 225-2271 Congressman Paulsen - (202) 225-2871 Congresswoman McCollum - (202) 225-6631 Congressman Ellison - (202) 225-4755 Congressman Emmer - (202) 225-2331 Congressman Peterson - (202) 225-2165 Congressman Nolan - (202) 225-6211 Background: The cuts to the FCIP will stem from a reduction in the rate of return for Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) through the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) to 8.9%. This plan would require a renegotiation of the SRA by the end of 2016 and would cut an estimated $3 billion from the public-private delivery system. It should also be considered that cuts to the crop program would require reopening the 2014 Farm Bill. A carefully crafted compromise that took almost two years to pass. Additionally, cuts to the crop insurance program were not a part of the House or Senate appropriations legislation. The crop insurance industry and rural America are already facing a financial downturn due to lower commodity prices. Additional cuts will be devastating to the agricultural marketplace.
| 
