Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of an amendment, one to ensure certainty and advance notice of any changes to crop insurance eligibility for our family farmers. On December 18, 2012, the RMA made a decision to alter the 2013 provisions of insurance for flue-cured and burley tobacco to impose a more stringent rotation schedule on tobacco farmers. Starting this year, farms have to rotate land every 2 years to qualify for crop insurance coverage. Farmers had already made their preparations for spring planting at the time of this untimely announcement, and there was no public involvement or formal rule-making process. Many farmers had already purchased fertilizer, signed leases and made other business decisions under the impression that the land they were making preparations for would be covered under the previous requirements. {time} 2310 Had these farmers been made aware in advance of these changes that rendered many ineligible for crop insurance coverage, they would have had sufficient time to make alternative plans. This amendment would prevent this problem for any commodity moving forward. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.”