Agricultural News
Environmental Working Group Says Crop Insurance Transparency Should Shape Farm Bill
Thu, 31 May 2012 19:06:05 CDT
In a conference call with the media, executives of the Environmental Working Group announced the release of data regarding crop insurance obtained from the federal government through a Freedom of Information Act request.
EWB called it the most detailed disclosure of federal crop insurance benefits to date, tracking subsidies across 686,273 insurance policies issued to 486,867 policyholders last year, when the program's costs exceeded a record $11 billion.
"This is the kind of analysis and information that should have formed the foundation of the debate on a proposal to dramatically expand and increase the funding for federal crop insurance," said Ken Cook, president of EWG.
Using FOIA requests, EWG collected information from U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency about crop insurance policies and premium subsidies for individual policyholders in each U.S. state and county. The records analyzed by EWG establish that the holders of subsidized crop insurance policies, unlike other Americans engaged in professional and commercial enterprises, enjoy extraordinarily costly federal perks in the form of premium subsidies.
U.S. taxpayers pick up an average of about 62 percent of the crop insurance premiums for farm businesses. Their share of these premiums has soared from $1.5 billion in 2002 to $7.4 billion in
2011. The subsidies go to large operators with no conservation strings attached to protect water and soil, no means testing, and no payment limit on how much a farm business can collect.
In the news conference Cook said his group was very concerned about how funding will be allocated in the new farm bill.
"We're very concerned about cuts to the SNAP program. We're very concerned about cuts to the conservation program. We feel that healthy food, healthy eating, could be dramatically improved by some investment of very promising programs already in the farm bill, Cook said.
EWG officials said that the insurance subsidies are so controversial, and so lucrative to the companies that administer it, that the industry's powerful lobbyists prevailed on Congress to bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture from disclosing identities of individual policyholders who reap the benefits.
"Taxpayers don't know who is getting our money," said Cook. "Why hasn't Congress done its job and released the names for everyone to see, instead of serving the interests of the crop insurance lobby?"
The group said it hopes by bringing the names of the beneficiaries out into the open, the debate will turn toward funding projects and initiatives it finds more agreeable.
"Senate agriculture committee leaders ought to lift the veil of secrecy before the 2012 farm bill hits the floor next month," said Cook. "We must stop giving big payouts that guarantee income to big agribusiness and pass a fair and equitable farm bill that makes meaningful reforms to crop insurance, feeds the hungry, and improves the environment and public health," said Cook.
You can find EWG's full report by clicking here.
You can hear extended remarks from the EWG teleconference by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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