National Association of Crop Insurance Agents

NACIA Washington Update
April 30, 2009

While NACIA membership won’t protect you from a pandemic, prevent your clients from switching parties, or give you acclaim for the past 100 days, it does provide you and your fellow crop insurance agents a voice in Washington. NACIA’s voice speaks only for you, not for companies, not for other types of insurance agents, but solely for you. This voice will prove essential as this Congress progresses, especially with House Agriculture Committee looking to reform the program and the numerous critics of the program both inside and outside of Washington.

Yesterday, the House and the Senate both passed the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution. Fortunately for us, the final language did not include and “assumed savings” (cuts) from agriculture. However, the budget resolution is only a guideline, and attempts to cut crop insurance or use funding for other projects could come from a number of other pieces of legislation. Now that the budget is finished, as it stands right now, major legislative initiatives for this Congress include appropriations, healthcare reform, food safety legislation, transportation reauthorization, child nutrition reauthorization, and cap and trade legislation. We expect the House Agriculture Committee to become involved in the cap and trade debate as it relates to agriculture, and would like to direct you to the climate change questionnaire on the House Agriculture Committee website, where you and your clients can give your input. The House Agriculture Committee’s immediate plans are to continue working on NAIS and to examine the renewable fuel standard regarding indirect land use and renewable biomass provisions. The NAIS hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 5, and the renewable fuel standard hearing will be held Wednesday, May 6.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Agriculture Committee has also scheduled a hearing for next week. On Thursday, May 7, they will hold a nomination hearing to consider Krysta Harden to be Assistant Secretary of Congressional Relations, Rajiv J. Shah, M.D. to be Under Secretary of Research, Education and Economics, and Dallas P. Tonsager to be Undersecretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, Department of Agriculture. Further details regarding these individuals can be found from the links in the nomination list below.

Down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, President Obama convened his first cabinet meeting last week. As part of an effort to cut spending, he tasked the Secretaries with coming up with $100 million in savings in the next month and a half. Below is an excerpt from a White House press release detailing the proposed areas in USDA that would be subject to cost-savings measures:

AGRICULTURE

Improper Payments – USDA has worked with the Treasury Department to identify potential fraud and improper payments in farm programs. Beginning with the 2009 crop year and in successive years, all farm program payment recipients will be required to sign a form which grants the Treasury Department the authority to provide income information to USDA for verification purposes. The reform proposal would render those out of compliance ineligible for USDA payments. Savings under this proposal could reach $16 million a year.
Office Leases – USDA is working to combine 1,500 USDA employees from seven leased locations into a single facility in early 2011, saving $62 million over a 15-year lease term.
Training – The Rural Development office has been utilizing Internet training in place of in-person training with projected annual savings of $1.3 million.

USDA has also been very active over the last week, with new initiatives and personnel announcements:

INITIATIVES

Last week Secretary Vilsack released a memorandum discussing his plan to promote civil rights and equal access at USDA. The memo states that all foreclosures within the Farm Service Agency's farm loan program will be temporarily suspended. Secretary Vilsack asserts that this “will not only aid farmers facing economic hardship but will also provide the opportunity to review the loan granting process for possible discriminatory conduct.” Details.

USDA has also made additions to its website to inform the public regarding stimulus spending and Farm Bill implementation. From a press release dated April 29:

“The innovative new geospatial mapping web-function debuted today at www.USDA.gov/recovery shows exactly where and how USDA is spending every dollar of Recovery Act funding across the nation. USDA has entered a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), so that HUD projects funded by the Recovery Act will also be featured on the geospatial map. By launching this website, and publishing a progress report at www.USDA.gov, USDA is working to deliver a government that is open and transparent, responsive and accountable to the American people.” Details.

PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Krysta Harden as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. NACIA joined numerous other agriculture groups in signing a letter in support of Krysta Harden’s nomination. That letter can be viewed on the NACIA website.
Robert Bonnie as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Environment and Climate.
Doug Caruso as Administrator of the United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.
Jay Jensen as USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment.
Rajiv J. Shah, M.D., as Under Secretary of Research, Education and Economics and Chief Scientist.
Kevin Concannon as Under Secretary of Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.
Edward M. Avalos as Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
Lisa Bertelson has been named special assistant to the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. A Wisconsin native, Bertelson was a research associate for the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production and worked on Obama's Senate staff.
Luke Knowles, an Alaskan who worked on the Obama campaign and transition team, will be the Confidential Assistant to the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
Pearlie S. Reed as Assistant Secretary for Administration.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Brent W. Gattis
NACIA Washington Representative
www.nacia.org

Kathy Fowler, NACIA President, 110 North 6th Street, P.O. Box 368, Memphis, TX 79245
phone: 806-259-1842, toll free: 877-390-9862, toll free fax: 800-848-3216
email: info@nacia.org, web: www.nacia.org
© 2010 National Association of Crop Insurance Agents. All rights reserved. Privacy & Non-Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Association of Crop Insurance Agents prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs). Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (Voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.