The American Farm Bureau Federation had the opportunity to address the 2016 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting with Congressional Relations and Senior Director, Mary Kay Thatcher.
We’ll have to be on our toes this year, she said to Chuck Zimmermann about funding for crop insurance and other ag programs. There has been talk about going back to regular order, which would mean passing a budget and 12 separate appropriations bills. This approach makes agriculture more of a target, and we would have to be ready quickly because those votes will happen fast.
The coming year is also full of challenges as an election year. In addition to fewer days in session and being out because of the upcoming conventions, many members of congress don’t want to make any major moves with the turning over of administrations.
“You have a whole lot of members of Congress who just don’t want to do something like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that would give this president a victory– even though they may be very pro-trade, etc.. And that certainly won’t be the only issue, but it gives you a good example of the struggles we’re going to face,” Thatcher says.
A big part of winning the fight in these efforts will be education, for Congress, for those in the middle, and even for farmers. Educate yourself by listening to Chuck’s full interview: Interview with Mary Kay Thatcher, American Farm Bureau Federation
