Jon Tester: “I rise here today to introduce the Biofuel Crop Insurance Act to provide a safety net to innovative American farmers.…”

“I rise here today to introduce the Biofuel Crop Insurance Act to provide a safety net to innovative American farmers. America's addiction to foreign oil is one of the greatest threats to our national security and our economy. At the same time climate change is threatening the world as we know it. We are experiencing wildly shifting weather patterns, prolonged drought, intense hurricanes and melting glaciers and icecaps. We need to do something to change our energy sources to clean and domestic options, and our farmers and rural communities are leading the way. Unfortunately, some of the best potential crops for biofuel production lack the same government safety nets like crop insurance and loans that our commodity crops have. This legislation is designed to change that by allowing the USDA to expedite the process for approving insurance to dedicated biofuel crops. In the last few years the ethanol industry has experienced explosive growth. Ethanol is good for farmers, rural communities and our consumers. I for one would rather buy my fuel from farmers in the Midwest than dictators in the Mideast. Corn will continue to be king of ethanol for some time. But we need to start using other crops for ethanol and biodiesel production, because if there is one thing that our recent energy crisis has taught us it is that diversity is critical.”