{
  "id": "RL30739",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30739",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 102025,
      "date": "2000-11-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:32:16.866941",
      "title": "Federal Crop Insurance and the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-224)",
      "summary": "On June 20, 2000, the President signed into law the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000\n( P.L.\n106-224 ,  H.R. 2559 ), which reduces significantly the farmer cost of acquiring a crop\ninsurance policy beginning in the 2001 crop year.  P.L. 106-224  is estimated to add $8.2 billion in\nnew federal spending for the federal crop insurance program over the next 5 years (FY2001-2005),\nin order to attract more farmers into the program and lessen the need for ad hoc disaster assistance.\n  From 1994 through 1999, the federal government spent an average of $1.5 billion per year on\ncrop insurance subsidies and program costs. The government pays the full cost of the premium for\ncatastrophic (CAT) coverage and pays a portion of the premium for higher levels of coverage. \nPrivate insurance companies sell and service the policies, but are reinsured by the government for\nmost of their losses and expenses. \n  Major reforms were made to the crop insurance program in 1994 in hopes of permanently\nreplacing expensive ad hoc disaster payment programs with a more heavily subsidized crop insurance\nprogram. Overall farmer participation in the program had increased in recent years, but not enough\nto forestall the perceived need for ad hoc disaster payments. Moreover, the enactment of a series of\nmulti-billion dollar farm financial assistance packages in both FY1999 and in FY2000 encouraged the\n106th Congress to consider further modifications to the crop insurance program. Opposition to crop\ninsurance enhancement came from those concerned that increased premium subsidies encourage\nfurther overproduction and price-depressing surpluses, and bring environmentally fragile land into\nproduction.\n   P.L. 106-224  addresses many problems with the crop insurance program that were identified by\nseveral farm and insurance industry groups. Most of the new spending authorized by the bill is to be\nused to increase the portion of the premium paid by the government on behalf of the producer for\ninsurance coverage higher than the CAT level, and, for the first time, to subsidize a portion of the\nadditional cost of revenue insurance products.\n   P.L. 106-224  also provides improved coverage for farmers affected by multiple years of natural\ndisasters; authorizes pilot insurance programs for livestock farmers and growers of other farm\ncommodities that are currently not served by crop insurance; gives the private sector greater\nrepresentation on the crop insurance policymaking board; and eases eligibility requirements for a\npermanent disaster payment program for noninsurable farmers, among many other provisions.\n  The FY2001 budget resolution ( H.Con.Res. 290 ) made room for the new spending\nrequired by  P.L. 106-224 . The resolution permitted new agricultural program spending of $8.2\nbillion over the FY2001-05 period for modifications to the federal crop insurance program.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30739",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Agricultural Policy"
  ]
}