{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=02d90221-4703-4136-880c-439120edb6f4", "Heitkamp Statement on Crop Insurance Fix", "2015-12-02", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, today issued the following statement regarding a fix to reverse harsh cuts to the federal crop insurance program. The fix was included in the compromise highway bill Congress released on Tuesday.\r\nThe bill  which still has to pass in the Senate and the House  reverses cuts to crop insurance in the recent budget deal and leaves other agricultural programs unharmed. In October, Heitkamp pledged to look for a path forward that would protect crop insurance from the budget acts cuts.\r\nCrop insurance is a cornerstone of farmers and our countrys agricultural success, which is why Ive fought hard to maintain the integrity of this program both in the 2014 Farm Bill, which many of us spent more than a year negotiating, and again now, said Heitkamp. When the recent budget deal threatened crop insurance, I made clear that I would do everything in my power and work with leaders on the Senate Committee on Agriculture to find a path forward to prevent those devastating cuts, provide certainty for farmers, and maintain this critical safety net. Crop insurance is a lifeline for jobs and families across rural America, and has already received $12 billion in cuts since 2008. It was unfair to try forcing even deeper cuts on hardworking farmers, and Im hopeful Congress will pass this needed fix to protect producers and this vital program.\r\nHeitkamp helped write, negotiate, and pass the2014 Farm Bill, and has worked tirelessly to represent farmers and producers across North Dakota and the country. The 2014 Farm Bill strengthened crop insurance  a key component of the farm safety net  while reducing the deficit by $23 billion and providing five years of certainty for farmers. Since then, Heitkamp has worked to protect crop insurance and make sure the Farm Bill is implemented properly.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=02d90221-4703-4136-880c-439120edb6f4"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.260783988982439, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}