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Concerns rise over budget support for ag

North Dakota’s congressional delegation are expressing their concern that President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 proposed budget does not adequately support agriculture.

“I appreciate the president’s commitment to cutting the deficit and balancing the budget for the first time in several years. I’m also grateful we have a president that takes America’s commitment to national defense seriously. That said, I believe some of the cuts requested – particularly the drastic cuts aimed at the federal crop insurance program – are misguided and fail to address the biggest drivers of debt in our country. So while his guidance is appreciated, it is Congress that holds the power of the purse and we will continue to address the federal deficit and budget priorities accordingly,” said Congressman Kevin Cramer.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said rural America is not a priority in the president’s budget and North Dakotans deserve better. “By slashing programs rural communities in every corner of our state depend on, it leaves North Dakota and rural America out in the cold,” said Heitkamp. “Some increases to defense spending are needed, but not at the expense of critical and sometimes lifesaving programs that support farmers, families, and those across our state just trying to put food on the table. At a time when commodity prices are already low, the president’s budget would take an axe to critical crop insurance programs that are often a lifeline to farmers – and a safety net they depend on to plant their crops.”

Sen. John Hoeven said, “Cuts to programs like crop insurance, conservation reserve program, and agriculture research are unacceptable, especially when our farmers and ranchers face challenges due to low commodity prices. We need to prioritize funding programs important to our producers and rural communities, because they are already doing their part to help reduce the debt and deficit. When the current farm bill was passed in 2014, it was calculated to save more than $23 billion. The Congressional Budget Office now estimates that the farm bill will actually save $104 billion over 10 years.”

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