Looking for less secrecy in the Crop Insurance Program, representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) introduced the Crop Insurance Transparency Act.
If passed, it would require USDA to publicly disclose the names of producers and insurers who receive federal crop insurance subsidies and the amount received.
“At a time when federal crop insurance payments are at an all-time high, it is an abject failure that a majority of our small farmers and ranchers do not even have access to the crop insurance safety net,” says Blumenauer.
“Reform begins with accurate and transparent information.”
Norman adds that one-third of all crop insurance subsidies don’t make it to farmers, but instead go to massive insurance companies.
“Millionaires and billionaires are likely receiving crop insurance subsidies at a time when most farmers are struggling to get by,” says Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group.
“It’s time to lift this veil of secrecy.”
