Boehner deflects farm bill timing, says crop insurance should cover most drought losses

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2012- Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, told press today that “a decision has not yet been made” on advancing the farm bill to the House floor and gave no indication of when a decision would be made. 

When it comes to disaster relief for farmers during the drought, Boehner said crop insurance should be sufficient.

“There’s no question there is real threat throughout the Midwest because of dry conditions,” he said. “Most farmers in my district avail themselves of crop insurance. That’s why our government subsidizes the cost of crop insurance.”

“In most cases crop insurance should be sufficient to deal with this problem,” Boehner said. 

After a briefing with President Barack Obama yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack designated an additional 39 counties in eight states as primary natural disaster areas. So far this year, USDA has designated 1,297 counties across 29 states as disaster areas, making all qualified farm operators eligible for low interest emergency loans.

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