Stallman on Senate plan

Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding Farm Program Cuts To Avert Sequestration February 15, 2013 “While initially we are encouraged that a new $110 billion fiscal policy proposal from Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would help put our nation on the long road toward greater fiscal responsibility, the details on how he proposes to do so raise strong concerns. It appears the lion’s share of budget reductions will come from cuts to agricultural programs that will create much harm in farm country. More than $27.5 billion in net spending reductions are earmarked for farm programs—with all the cuts coming from the elimination of direct payments with no provision to allow use of some of the savings for reinvestment in new safety-net or risk-management concepts. The magnitude of these proposed cuts will hamstring the House and Senate Agriculture committees from crafting a farm bill that includes the safety-net and risk-management provisions that our farmers need. We also believe it is very unfair that only the Defense and Agriculture programs are tapped to reduce spending in this bill. “While last year’s farm bill was leading us toward a path without direct payments, at least that path did include significant reinvestment of some of that funding to other farm programs and crop insurance tools. It is vital that a realistic portion of the proposed funding cuts to agriculture be reinvested to support risk-management programs that are so vital to farmers and ranchers. We recognize that the proposal provides for some of the savings to be redirected to extend key disaster programs left in the lurch by the New Year’s tax deal and several other expiring provisions in the farm bill. But in order to address the constant perils of market instability and potential yield loss, farmers need a stable risk-management program. “We recognize there are many steps on the road toward restoring fiscal responsibility to our federal government and that some will be painful. That pain, however, should be a shared experience and not take such a heavy toll from any one sector. Once again, agriculture is being asked to step up to the cutting table and hand over substantially more than its fair share. We sincerely hope our lawmakers are not eating the seed needed to sow a viable risk-management program to help secure our nation’s crops and livestock.”

New Bill Repealing HIT Good for Farmers, Ranchers

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 15, 2013 – Legislation introduced in the House today is a major step for farmers, ranchers and small businesses that would otherwise be negatively impacted by healthcare reform, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Jobs and Premium Protection Act of 2013, introduced by Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Jim Matheson (R-Utah), would repeal the Health Insurance Tax (HIT). “The cost of health insurance is a major concern for farmers and ranchers,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “Health insurance costs already have gone up more than 100 percent since 2000 and the HIT will impose even more devastating costs on America’s farmers, ranchers and small businesses.” A recent Congressional Budget Office report confirms that the HIT Tax “would be largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums for private coverage.” The new tax would raise insurance costs even more, making it harder for farmers and ranchers to purchase coverage for themselves, their families and their employees. “Most farmers and ranchers do not have large enough pools of employees to be self-insured,” continued Stallman. “Instead, they purchase health insurance in the fully insured market, from which it is solely determined how much HIT an insurance company must pay. Because of this, the cost of this erroneous tax will be passed through to small businesses that purchase those plans.” The HIT was passed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). According to AFBF, it has nothing to do with reforming the health care insurance system but was included in PPACA as a way to raise revenue to offset the cost of the legislation. During 2014, the first year that the HIT takes effect, $8 billion dollars will be collected.