[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 131 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2006-E2007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                AGRICULTURAL RISK PROTECTION ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JIM NUSSLE

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2559) to 
     amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act, to strengthen the 
     safety net for agricultural producers by providing greater 
     access to more affordable risk management tools and improve 
     protection from production and income loss, to improve the 
     efficiency and integrity of the Federal crop insurance 
     program, and for other purposes:

  Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
2559, the Agricultural Risk Protection Act. I would like to start by 
saying how impressed I am with the progress the House has made this 
year in transforming the concept of Federal crop insurance reform into 
the legislation we have in front of us today.
  In 1994, as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I had the 
opportunity to help write the last revision of the Federal crop 
insurance program. While the 1994 bill was a step in the right 
direction, that reform was done under the old Depression-era farm 
policy. I said then that the crop insurance program needed to become 
more farmer friendly by providing participation incentives for farmers.
  As everyone in this chamber should recall, on February 1, 1999, the 
President submitted to Congress his fiscal year (FY) 2000 budget which 
failed to include a single dollar for crop insurance reform. After the 
President submitted his budget, I began working with House Budget 
Committee Chairman Kasich to provide funds for crop insurance reform in 
the House's FY 2000 budget. After a long hard-fought battle, on March 
25, 1999, the House took a critical step in securing the necessary 
funds to reform crop insurance this year by providing $6 billion over 
five years for crop insurance in the FY 2000 budget. This decision by 
the Budget Committee gave the House and Senate Agriculture Committees 
the flexibility to address the need for workable risk management tools 
that are available to all farmers.
  I applaud the House Agriculture Committee for the legislation they 
have brought before the House today. This legislation will provide 
future stability in the farm safety net by increasing premium 
assistance to producers, rewarding the productive capability of 
farmers, and creating new coverage for falling crop values and 
livestock losses. This legislation simply offers more choices to more 
farmers and less cost to farmers and taxpayers.
  This bill addresses the need for workable risk management tools that 
are available to all

[[Page E2007]]

farmers. This is the kind of long-term help the Federal Government can 
and should provide to American farmers in the 21st century, without 
turning back the clock to Depression-era programs that had Washington 
bureaucrats telling farmers what to plant and where to plant it. By 
passing this legislation, establishing strong foreign markets, reducing 
burdensome regulations, and improving access to affordable financing 
for farmers, I believe our government can give farmers the tools they 
need to compete in a world market. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H.R. 2559.

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