As the Senate Budget Committee this afternoon wraps-up its work on the federal government's $1.8 trillion annual budget blueprint, Grassley also co-sponsored an amendment with other farm state lawmakers including Sens. Kent Conrad, Rod Grams, and Tim Johnson to trigger an additional $500 million for the farm safety net in fiscal 2000. The amendment won unanimous approval. Grassley said the budget offset to pay for this pro-farmer initiative was sale of Governor's Island in New York.
Yesterday, the House Budget Committee approved a resolution that contains $6 billion to expand the crop insurance program. The House plan does not include the $500 million contained in the Grassley amendment to allow immediate improvements to the program.
Grassley is the only working family farmer in the U.S. Senate. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Grassley will work on reforming the federal crop insurance program to help make it more affordable, accessible and appealing for family farmers to better manage their risk. He is an original co-sponsor of the reform proposal introduced by Sens. Pat Roberts and Bob Kerrey.
Grassley comment follows:
"It was a big disappointment that the president's budget didn't include a single penny for crop insurance. There's no doubt that we need to provide farmers with better tools to manage risk and help keep them afloat. The tough times we're experiencing right now underscore the importance of taking action. The crop insurance money approved by the House committee and additional funds provide by the Senate committee sends a welcome signal to rural America during National Agricultural Week. We need to continue efforts in Congress to to address the sagging farm economy."