CCC Authority Suspended in House Bill

The Republican farm bill suspends the Agriculture Secretary’s Section 5 authority to use Commodity Credit Corporation funding to offset the cost of increasing reference prices and support crop insurance. Georgia Congressman Sanford Bishop introduced an amendment to remove this language. “Let’s call it what it is, it’s a budget gimmick and we know that restricting the Secretary’s authority won’t get us anywhere near enough money to pay for the farm bill,” said Bishop. “The (Congressional) Budget Office says this provision saved $6.7 billion, not enough to pay for the improvements to our farm safety net or crop insurance.” Missouri Congressman Mark Alford said this issue comes down to fiscal responsibility. “The fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, if we weren’t $35 trillion in debt as a nation it might be acceptable for this (Agriculture) Secretary, any Secretary, to have the taxpayer’s credit card with a $3 billion credit limit, but this Secretary abused this and run up charges of more than $10 billion a year for six years. It’s time to cut up the credit card.” The amendment to remove the CCC restrictions failed.