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McIntyre secures full payment this year for tobacco farmers
Story Date: 1/7/2014
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Source: US Congressman Mike McIntyre (NC-7), 1/6/14
U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre, the #2 Ranking Member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, announced today that the Administration has reversed its decision and will restore much-needed annual payments to tobacco farmers.
Congressman McIntyre said, “This is a great victory for our tobacco farmers, their families, and our agricultural communities! The federal government must keep the commitment it made to our farmers in the Tobacco Buyout 10 years ago. I am pleased that the Administration has responded to our requests to ensure that farmers in Eastern North Carolina and across the country receive the funds they were promised!”
Obligations to both the financial institutions that put forward initial lump sum payments and the tobacco producers will be made whole this year.
In November of 2013, the Administration announced that the Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP), the annual payments to farmers allocated in the 2004 Tobacco Buyout, would be subject to sequestration in 2014.
As the co-author of the 2004 Tobacco Buyout, Congressman McIntyre understood how devastating the impact of sequestration would be on this program which has been responsible for a $4 billion boost in North Carolina’s economy since 2004. Congressman McIntyre led the fight to oppose the cuts in payments and to ensure the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fulfilled the final annual financial payment that was promised to tobacco farmers.
Congressman McIntyre assembled a bipartisan Congressional Delegation of 34 of his U.S. House colleagues from nine states, who joined him in writing a letter to the Administration opposing the unnecessary cuts to the TTPP. Through personal calls to top officials at USDA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congressman McIntyre made clear how economically vital the annual TTPP payments are to farmers and financial institutions alike.
In a call with Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden on Monday, Congressman McIntyre secured a guarantee that the Administration would make good on its promise to deliver the final TTPP funds and that a full payment would be made to all recipients. Payments will be made to financial institutions by January 15th. All obligations to tobacco producers will be made whole by the end of the 2014 calendar year, with as much as 95% paid out in the next two months.
The Tobacco Buyout program was implemented to end a Depression-era price support program by providing annual transitional payments for 10 years to eligible tobacco quota holders and producers. Payments began in 2005 and are scheduled to continue through 2014, when the final payment is due. Payments are funded by tobacco product manufacturers and importers, at no cost to the taxpayer.
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