Washington, DC - Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate today would limit the amount of federal crop insurance premium subsidies a grower can receive, saving billions of dollars while affecting very few farmers, EWG Vice President of Government Affairs Scott Faber said.
The Crop Insurance Reform Bill filed by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) would place a $50,000 a year cap on the amount of premium subsidies a person or legal entity can receive. The Congressional Budget Office calculates that this reform alone would save $2.2 billion over 10 years.
“From 2003 through 2012, American taxpayers paid more than $42 billion for crop insurance premium subsidies – a full 72 percent of the federal crop insurance program’s total cost during that time,” said Faber.
“The proposed cap would affect only 2.5 percent of farmers,” Faber added. “Furthermore, the Government Accountability Office has said that such reforms will not affect program participation. We thank Senators Shaheen and Toomey for their leadership.”
