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Kind tries again for crop insurance reform before farm bill

A Wisconsin Congressman is trying to make federal crop insurance program changes before the next farm bill.  Democrat Ron Kind tells Brownfield crop insurance needs reforms to make it more fiscally responsible to taxpayers.  That includes eliminating the existing profit guarantee.  “The private crop insurance companies, those that issue the policies, we guarantee them a 14-and-a-half percent profit margin.  We don’t offer that deal to any other business in the country.  Why are we doing that for crop insurance companies?”  Kind also points out four of the top five crop insurers are foreign owned companies.

 

Kind’s legislation proposes more transparency, so premium subsidies for crop insurance can be tracked and targeting help to family farms.  “It would also start means testing the crop insurance program, so all of the benefits don’t go to huge agribusinesses around the country to the detriment of our family farmers.”

Kind has seen previous bipartisan efforts to reform crop insurance come up a couple of votes short on the House floor but is encouraged by a recent Government Accountability Office report confirming taxpayers could save more than half-a-billion dollars while preserving the program for family farmers.