[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FINDINGS SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO H. RES. 1493

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. COLLIN C. PETERSON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2010

  Mr. PETERSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1493, I am 
submitting changes in law that will help achieve deficit reduction by 
reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement; promoting efficiency 
and government reform; and controlling spending in the programs within 
each Committee's jurisdiction.
  This year saw significant deficit reduction resulting from crop 
insurance changes enacted by Congress in the Food, Conservation, and 
Energy Act, FCEA, of 2008. In that legislation, the Committee included 
a provision directing the Administration to renegotiate the federal 
crop insurance program's Standard Reinsurance Agreement, which sets the 
financial terms and conditions for companies which participate in the 
program. The fruits of our effort were borne when USDA completed its 
renegotiation this past June, resulting in a more efficient crop 
insurance program and net savings, according to the Congressional 
Budget Office, of almost six billion dollars for deficit reduction.
  This six billion dollars represents a seven percent reduction in the 
crop insurance program's baseline from FY 2011-20, making the Committee 
on Agriculture the only Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives 
that has accomplished deficit reduction this year through decreasing 
mandatory spending for programs under its jurisdiction. If other 
federal government spending was trimmed by a similar percent reduction 
and the savings dedicated to deficit reduction, we would reduce the 
budget deficit by almost three trillion dollars during FY 2011-20.
  Federal spending to support production agriculture, according to CBO, 
represents less than one-half of one percent of all Federal Government 
spending. With these reductions, I believe agriculture has gone above 
and beyond any expectation with regard to finding cuts to reduce the 
deficit. However, this does not mean our programs are completely free 
of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement or inefficiency. As Chairman, 
I can assure you that I will continue to lead the Committee's efforts 
through investigations, hearings, and general oversight to find other 
ways to improve further the operation of the government programs under 
our jurisdiction.

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