Bipartisan Legislation Enhances All Crop Insurance Infrastructure, with a Focus on Specialty Crops

Washington, D.C.— U.S. Representative Austin Scott (GA-08), Chairman of the House Agriculture General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit Subcommittee, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) of the Ways & Means Committee, and Rep. Tracey Mann (KS-01), Chairman of the House Agriculture Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee, today introduced the Ensuring Access to Risk Management Act.

The legislation corrects a current flaw that cuts risk management delivery funding for specialty crops whenever larger row crops experience higher commodity prices. The legislation also restores the annual inflation adjustment for risk management delivery funding for all crops.

The flaw harming specialty crop risk management delivery has been a problem since 2011. The last general inflation adjustment for risk management delivery was in 2015. The FY2022 Agricultural Appropriations Bill included equitable relief for specialty crop risk management delivery for one year. Both the FY2022 and FY2023 Agricultural Appropriations Bills called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide permanent relief for specialty crop risk management delivery as well as the restoration of the general annual inflation adjustment for all crops, but USDA indicated that legislation is required.

“As the Chairman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over Federal Crop Insurance, I’m pleased to introduce this legislation to ensure that the infrastructure delivering our farmers and ranchers their most important safety net is on solid ground,” said Rep. Scott. “Agriculture in my state and district is very diverse, and this legislation is designed to ensure that whatever our producers grow, they’re going to get the risk management help they need.”

“The current design of our crop insurance system can hurt many specialty crop producers all across the country, including in California’s 19^th Congressional District,” said Rep. Panetta.  “Our bipartisan legislation would correct that flaw and provide improved risk management infrastructure when prices fluctuate. This commonsense step to improve this program will help strengthen our farms, the food that they produce, and the families that they support.”

“The higher the risk, the higher fall, and the stronger the safety net you need to survive,” said Rep. Mann. “While the federal crop insurance program mitigates risk and helps strengthen that safety net, the program’s administrative and operating costs have not been adjusted for inflation since the 2015 reinsurance year. Since then, inflation hit a forty-year high, and America’s agricultural producers and crop insurance agents are feeling its weight. By establishing a minimum reimbursement rate for administrative and operating expenses and restoring the annual inflation adjustment, this legislation helps Congress further strengthen the agricultural safety net to give farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers the certainty they deserve.”

“A large, bipartisan majority of Congress has twice gone on record in support of the important policies our legislation today advances,” added Rep. Scott. “Reps. Panetta, Mann, and I look forward to working during the Farm Bill process to make these policies a reality for the benefit of the farm and ranch families we serve and for producers across the country.”

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

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