Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a budget measure stripping $3 billion from the federal crop insurance program. Iowa Congressman David Young voted against the budget measure and introduced legislation that reverses those cuts.
Young’s bill, H.R. 3845 – the Crop Insurance Restoration Act, repeals the crop insurance reductions to honor the commitment Congress made to America’s farmers in the 2014 Farm Bill.
Young says the majority of farmers he talks to feel like they?re under attack by their own government. He says cutting crop insurance in the current agriculture economy is simply not smart.
?It did cut $3 billion out of crop insurance and it reopened the farm bill and we were promised the farm bill would not be reopened. Here it is part of this deal and so I am going to do my best to restore those cuts to the crop insurance program and I introduced a bill right away to reinstate those cut $3 billion and get back to the original farm bill the way it was,? Young said.
Young says Rural America deserves to have a voice championing their priorities in Congress. He adds with falling corn and soybean prices coupled with consistently high prices for land, seeds and other inputs, fall farm incomes is a serious problem.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Earning for farmers is expected to drop 36 percent this year. With that in mind, along with introducing The Crop Insurance Restoration Act, Congressman Young kicked off a “Bringing in the Harvest” agricultural tour on Friday, October 30.
