Kevin Roberts: “I rise to engage in this colloquy that our distinguished Republican leader has already mentioned or stressed. I also…”

“I rise to engage in this colloquy that our distinguished Republican leader has already mentioned or stressed. I also thank our majority whip, the Senator from Texas, and the senior Senator from South Dakota, Mr. Thune, with regard to a commitment made between all of us on the floor. This commitment is in reference to the obvious need to remedy the language adversely affecting our Nation's farmers and ranchers that is now included in the Bipartisan Budget Act. This provision, section 201, included in the underlying bill, should it go into effect, would greatly damage the crop insurance program as we know it, not to mention the farmers who purchase this crop insurance. The commitment we have reached is to reverse these damaging cuts and policy changes to the crop insurance program in order to protect our producers' primary risk management tool and their No. 1 priority. In all of the great talk and effort that we had to pass the farm bill-- over 400 days--the No. 1 issue to farmers, ranchers, and every commodity group and every farm organization was crop insurance. This legislative action--or fix, if we want to call it that--will take place in consideration of the year-end spending bill. I have been working very closely with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, who has reached a similar position with the House leadership. It was a tough trail, but Mike got it done.…”