Speaking to a friendly farm crowd, President Trump, who proposed a 36-percent cut in long-term funding for crop insurance last May, said he will work with Congress for a 2018 farm bill “that delivers for all of you—and I support—a bill that includes crop insurance.” Trump responded to the standing ovation for crop insurance by adding, “I guess you like it.”
“On NAFTA, I am working very hard to get a better deal for our country and for our farmers and for our manufacturers,” said the president during a 35-minute speech to farmers and ranchers who attended Farm Bureau’s annual convention in Nashville, Tenn. “It’s not the easiest negotiation but we’re going to make it fair for you people again.”
With the crowd as witnesses, Trump signed two documents to encourage universal access to high-speed internet in rural areas. One was a memo to the Interior Department to allow privately owned antennas on federal towers. The other was an executive order for federal agencies to expedite permits for broadband facilities. “Those towers are going to go up and you’re going to have great, great broadband,” he said.
Farm groups and their allies in Congress are giving top priority to a strong crop insurance program in a farm bill that is expected to make few major changes in federal policy. The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee aims for House passage of a bill by spring. The 2014 farm law made the federally subsidized program the major U.S. farm support at around $8 billion a year, ahead of crop subsidies and land stewardship.
Trump’s endorsement of crop insurance generated the longest sustained applause during his speech. After mentioning that Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts, a stalwart proponent of crop insurance, was on hand, the president said, “I’m looking forward to working with Congress to pass a farm bill on time so that it delivers for all of you and I support a bill that includes crop insurance – unless you don’t want me to.” As the crowd cheered, Trump added, “I guess you like it, right? Good, because if I heard no applause, I’d say, forget it, give it up. Now I can’t do that. No, we’re working hard on the farm bill and I think it’s going to go well.”
A news release by Roberts’ office described Trump’s speech as “his first public statement in support of crop insurance.” Roberts said, “President Trump has listened to my concerns on numerous occasions, as evidenced by today’s speech, and those concerns have not fallen on deaf ears. I look forward to working with President Trump as we write the upcoming farm bill.”
Exports account for 20 percent of farm income, so Trump’s campaign threats to tear up trade agreements caused anxiety in farm country. But producers voted overwhelmingly for him because of his platform of tax reform, regulatory relief and support for corn ethanol. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is credited with dissuading Trump from abandoning NAFTA last April by showing the president a heavily rural map of states that would be hurt by U.S. withdrawal. Canada and Mexico are responsible for one-third of U.S. agricultural trade.
The United States has proposed at the NAFTA talks that Canada eliminate its tariffs on imports of U.S. dairy, poultry and egg products, meaning a dismantling of the nation’s supply management system. “It’s a very good system,” says Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, who spoke at the Farm Bureau meeting on Sunday. “We have indicated quite publicly…We are fully supporting the supply management system.” The sixth round of NAFTA talks are set for Jan. 23-28 in Montreal.
Congress has ignored the administration proposals made last spring to eliminate insurance premium subsidies for policies that include the harvest price option, to deny premium subsidies to people with more than $500,000 a year in adjusted gross income, and to limit crop insurance subsidies to $40,000 a year. Crop insurance is a major target for budget hawks and farm bill reformers.
Ahead of the speech in Nashville, a senior administration official said last year’s budget proposal for crop insurance savings was well known. “We will see what the president says about the farm bill and crop insurance, specifically, on Monday…What I would never expect to see is that we would completely zero or eliminate those tools. Folks here and certainly the secretary (Perdue) understands they’re an important part of the farm safety net.”
To watch a White House video of Trump’s speech, click here.
To read the text of Trump’s speech, click here.
To read a White House fact sheet, “President Donald J. Trump is working to rebuild rural America,,” click here.
To read the memorandum to the Interior Department, click here.
To read the executive order on expediting permits for broadband, click here.