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Bipartisan farm bill agreement includes Hagan provisions
Story Date: 2/3/2014
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Source: PRESS RELEASE, 1/31/14
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan secured key provisions for North Carolina farmers and rural communities in the bipartisan farm bill agreement announced this week, including her amendment to strengthen efforts to deter and prevent crop insurance fraud that drive up insurance prices on honest law-abiding farmers. The agreement sets agriculture policy for the next five years and reduces the deficit by tens of billions of dollars. The Senate must now approve the agreement before it can be signed into law.
“For too long, partisan gridlock has gotten in the way of passing a long-term farm bill, and I am pleased that Senate and House conferees reached an agreement that will give farmers in North Carolina and across the country the certainty they need,” said Hagan. “Agriculture is the largest industry in our state, and I’m proud that this agreement includes several provisions I worked on to help North Carolina farmers expand and create jobs and access new safety net measures that will help them recover if they sustain losses due to events outside their control. I urge the Senate to pass this legislation without delay so we can keep this important economic engine running and support our rural communities.”
Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest industry, generating $77 billion in economic activity and employing nearly one-fifth of the state’s workforce.
Provisions Hagan secured important to North Carolina:
• Hagan amendment to strengthen crop insurance fraud prevention. After the largest-ever crop insurance fraud ring was uncovered in North Carolina last year, Hagan heard from farmers across the state about their concerns that in these difficult budget times, the actions of a few bad actors could jeopardize federal crop insurance programs. Hagan sponsored an amendment that provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the necessary resources to combat fraud and preserve safety-net programs for honest law abiding farmers. That amendment passed the Senate last year by a vote of 94-0.
• Additional funding for a program that provides technical assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and farmers returning from service in the U.S. military. Hagan requested that $50 million be included in the farm bill over five years to help these individuals successfully acquire, own, operate and retain farms.
• Reinstatement of the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program (EAAP). This program is vital to North Carolina’s textile and cotton producing sectors. The program provides a payment to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed, stimulating new investment in textile plants and equipment and resulting in increased domestic cotton consumption and jobs.
• Full funding of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. More than 1.7 million acres in North Carolina are federal lands that cannot be taxed and, as a result, county governments lose vital tax revenue each year. Many North Carolina counties depend on PILT to help pay for essential services such as law enforcement, public safety, infrastructure maintenance, education and health services.
• Provision that provides North Carolina's forestry industries with much-needed clarity on an EPA regulation that does little or nothing to protect water quality.
During floor debate of the 2013 Senate Farm Bill, Hagan also led a bipartisan coalition in defeating an amendment that would have prevented tobacco farmers from receiving federal crop insurance. Passage of the amendment would have significantly harmed roughly 2,000 small tobacco farmers in North Carolina, increased imports of foreign tobacco, and done nothing to lower smoking rates.
Hagan continues to work on behalf of North Carolina’s small tobacco farmers. In November, she urged the USDA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to exempt the final year of the Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP) from budget sequestration. Earlier this month, the USDA and OMB agreed to prevent reductions to the payments.
The farm bill conference report announced this week eliminates direct payments and creates new safety net programs for farmers. Instead of subsidies that pay out every year even in good times, the bill creates risk management tools that help farmers recover from losses caused by extreme weather.
By reforming the direct payment system, streamlining programs and cracking down on abuse, the legislation slashes the deficit by $23 billion.
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