WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reaffirming their stance against reopening the 2014 Farm Bill to further cuts, U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., today announced their commitment to finding a bipartisan solution that ensures crop insurance remains an effective risk management tool for American farmers and ranchers.
“I am pleased House and Senate leadership have listened to our concerns and have agreed to restore funds to crop insurance,” said Chairman Roberts. “I have worked my entire career to build crop insurance as a public-private partnership that best protects producers and taxpayers. With this agreement today, the Bipartisan Budget Act has my support, and I look forward to working with Ranking Member Stabenow to ensure crop insurance, the number one priority of farmers across the nation, remains their best protection.”
“I will support the Bipartisan Budget Act because I think it is critical that we pass a bipartisan budget agreement that works for all Americans and avoids a default on our national commitments; however, I oppose any efforts to cut or reopen Farm Bill programs,” said Ranking Member Stabenow. “The proposed changes to crop insurance in the budget agreement undermine a critical tool used by our farmers and ranchers. That’s why I am committed to working in a bipartisan way with Chairman Roberts to find a solution that keeps the Farm Bill intact and provides the certainty our farmers and ranchers depend on through crop insurance.”
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