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Agricultural News


House Approves Non Binding Instructions on Crop Insurance Premium Caps-Rejects Other Instruction

Sun, 13 Oct 2013 19:46:44 CDT

House Approves Non Binding Instructions on Crop Insurance Premium Caps-Rejects Other Instruction On Friday and Saturday, the full House voted on several resolutions expressing "sense of the House" instructions to House Farm Bill conferees in how they are supposed to negotiate with the Senate in developing a final 2013 Farm Bill Conference report. One of the three non binding resolutions was adopted on a voice vote on Friday, with the House Saturday morning rejecting two non-binding motions to instruct conferees on the farm bill dealing with sugar policy as well as permanent law and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.


The House defeated, on a 192-212 vote, a resolution (H. Res. 378), offered by Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., to instruct conferees to give the agriculture secretary authority to increase sugar imports year-round, rather than just during the current six-month window. Then, the House rejected, on a 195-204 vote, a motion to instruct conferees to support permanent law provisions in the Senate bill and a five-year reauthorization of SNAP benefits. The current House proposal includes a three-year reauthorization of SNAP with a $40 billion cut.


The third of the resolutions, House Resolution 379, was agreed to on Friday afternoon by a voice vote, which means it is unknown how much support its authors really had in offering direction to Chairman Lucas and his House colleagues as they work with the Senate on this aspect of the Farm Bill. It deals with Crop Insurance. Click here for the actual text of the resolution.


Lucas appeared before the House Rules committee Friday morning to discuss the ramifications of the resolution offering instruction dealing with crop insurance. The instruction directs House conferees to partially agree to a Senate measure cutting crop insurance premiums for operations with an adjusted gross income in excess of $750,000 per year.


On Friday afternoon, Lucas was on the House floor to defending the actions of the House back in July when House members rejected similar changes as the "Farm Bill Farm Bill" was narrowly approved on the floor.


Lucas said that such a cut could produce unintended consequences and higher costs for the federal government. Large producers who are targeted by the cuts could elect to go without crop insurance which would reduce the size of the risk pool. In the event of a disaster, that would mean the remaining policy holders would shoulder a larger portion of the costs.


"I have concerns about language, on the one hand, that would restrict participation in the program because that shrinks the pool and runs the risk of impacting what the costs will be later and how efficient the programs will be."


"I would tell you that if the farm bill is about raising food, about making sure we have enough to eat and enough fiber, then the resources should go to the people who raise the food and fiber, who deliver that product. Picking winners and losers among who should be participating, stepping away from the concept of encouraging production and taking a perspective of deciding who gets to be involved in farming, I have a little problem with that, too. But the main issue is how you impact the insurance pool."


Lucas went on to explain a provision of the Senate Bill that would allow for the subsidy cap to be eliminated or modified if it appeared it would be detrimental to the program and asked House members to give the conferees as much leeway as possible to negotiate an equitable arrangement with the Senate.


Some analysts think crop insurance rates could rise as much as 40 percent for operations with AGIs above $750,000.


Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan offered the Resolution and claims larger farmers who have an AGI above the threshold will still buy Crop Insurance. He also rejected the arguments of Lucas in saying that not having these farmers in the "pool" (if they decide insurance is too costly and drop out)will not hurt smaller farmers because this type of insurance does not really depend on having a larger pool to spread risk out among more policy holders.


You can hear the arguments advanced by Frank Lucas and by Paul Ryan by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.




   
   

House Ag Chairman Frank Lucas Argues Against Resolution 279- Paul Ryan Argues For.
right-click to download mp3

 

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