The bottom line is that my bill meets all of the Budget Resolution s spending limitations by a comfortable margin. I believe that risk management is broader than crop insurance alone. An approach to risk management that focuses solely on the crop insurance program s subsidy structure is too narrow to address the many risks faced by farmers. In crafting my own risk management bill, I was guided by four principles. First, the greatest possible amount of the six billion dollars should go directly to farmers.
Farmers get the remaining two-thirds.
In my view, farmers should receive more of the new federal spending. Second, the six billion dollars should be provided in such a manner so that it does not distort planting decisions. I believe that Dr. Gardner will address this point in his testimony. Federal risk management spending should not inadvertently subsidize overproduction when world-wide agricultural stocks are already large. Subsidizing overproduction postpones the day when agricultural prices will rebound.