U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today released the following statement after U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced he’d seek to cut the agency’s budget by five percent, despite a farm economy at risk from the administration’s trade war.
The administration has proposed steep cuts to crop insurance in recent budgets, an indication that USDA may look to cut safety net programs to achieve the five percent cut. Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, fought against those proposed cuts, which received bipartisan criticism.
“With a trade war threatening farm country and an anemic bailout package that doesn’t take into account North Dakota’s needs and geography, it’s shameful to consider throwing our farmers yet another wrench of uncertainty,” Heitkamp said. “If past budgets from this administration are any indication of what they’ll cut, then crop insurance is at risk, which should worry everyone. It’s not only bad policy, it sends the wrong message to the farmers who are already bearing the brunt of the administration’s reckless trade war. USDA needs to respect rural America and reject these harmful and unnecessary cuts.”