Mann, Scott, Panetta Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Crop Insurance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, along with Representatives Austin Scott (GA-08), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit, and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) of the Ways & Means Committee, introduced the Ensuring Access to Risk Management Act.

The legislation corrects a current flaw that cuts risk management delivery funding for crops and restores the annual inflation adjustment for risk management delivery funding.

The last general inflation adjustment for risk management delivery was in 2015. Both the Fiscal Year 2022 and Fiscal Year 2023 agricultural appropriations legislationurged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide permanent relief for specialty crop risk management delivery and the restoration of the general annual inflation adjustment for all crops, but USDA indicated that legislation is required.

“The higher the risk, the higher fall, and the stronger the safety net you need to survive,” said Rep. Mann. “While the federal crop insurance program mitigates risk and helps strengthen that safety net, the program’s administrative and operating costs have not been adjusted for inflation since the 2015 reinsurance year. Since then, inflation hit a forty-year high, and America’s agricultural producers and crop insurance agents are feeling its weight. By establishing a minimum reimbursement rate for administrative and operating expenses and restoring the annual inflation adjustment, this legislation helps Congress further strengthen the agricultural safety net to give farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers the certainty they deserve.”

“As the Chairman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over Federal Crop Insurance, I’m pleased to introduce this legislation to ensure that the infrastructure delivering our farmers and ranchers their most important safety net is on solid ground,” said Rep. Scott. “Agriculture in my state and district is very diverse, and this legislation is designed to ensure that whatever our producers grow, they’re going to get the risk management help they need.”

“The current design of our crop insurance system can hurt many specialty crop producers all across the country, including in California’s 19th Congressional District,” said Rep. Panetta. “Our bipartisan legislation would correct that flaw and provide improved risk management infrastructure when prices fluctuate. This commonsense step to improve this program will help strengthen our farms, the food that they produce, and the families that they support."

Click hereto view the full text of the legislation

Click hereto view Rep. Mann’s Commitment to the Big First

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