At Senate Hearing, Sen. Heitkamp Stands up for ND Farmers, Ranchers As Administration Threatens Budget Cuts

WASHINGTON, May 25 -- The office of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., issued the following news release:

At a U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing today, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp pressed expert witnesses about how Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can help North Dakota farmers and ranchers weather the challenging price environment--even as the administration proposes drastic cuts to USDA and crop insurance. Heitkamp also pressed witnesses about what more USDA and Congress can do to help new and beginning farmers.

"When farmers and ranchers do well, North Dakota does well--and that's why challenging commodity prices are such a concern," said Heitkamp. "With commodity prices already low, it doesn't help to have the administration proposing drastic cuts to crop insurance and USDA programs that help rural America succeed. Additionally, the president's budget puts USDA programs on the chopping block, taking away $231 billion in funding from Farm Bill programs. USDA programs that support exports are especially vital in North Dakota, where agricultural exports alone support 27,000 good-paying jobs--but those programs would be entirely eliminated in this budget."

After the administration released its detailed budget for the 2018 fiscal year Tuesday, threatening critical federal funding for rural America, Heitkamp expressed serious concern about the proposed $231 billion in cuts to Farm Bill programs.

Heitkamp helped write, negotiate, and pass the 2014 Farm Bill and has worked to implement and protect the Farm Bill for producers across North Dakota. In August 2016, Heitkamp began laying the groundwork for a robust 2018 Farm Bill with a two-day tour across North Dakota, meeting with farmers, ranchers, researchers, and other agriculture leaders in the field to get their feedback ahead of the upcoming Farm Bill negotiations.

Heitkamp has long worked to expand market access for North Dakota farmers and ranchers. Last year, Heitkamp called on the former U.S. Trade Representative to protect North Dakota grain growers from unfair treatment after a report she requested showed that Canada segregates North Dakota grain and offers unfair prices to U.S. producers at Canadian elevators. Heitkamp has also fought to guarantee North Dakota farmers have fair access to China, including through a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance case in December 2016. In September 2016, she helped announce an earlier compliance case to hold China accountable for over-subsidizing its domestic crops.

At his confirmation hearing in March, Heitkamp pushed USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to be a strong voice for agricultural trade in the administration and to stand up for other agricultural priorities. At the hearing, Perdue endorsed Heitkamp's bipartisan bill to expand U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba by lifting private financing restrictions on exports--a bill Heitkamp pressed Perdue on when they met earlier this year.