releases: http://roby.house.gov/column/fighting-alabama-agriculture
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| http://roby.house.gov/column/fighting-alabama-agriculture | Fighting for Alabama Agriculture | 2015-11-06 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Republican | House | AL | Martha Roby | R000591 | roby.house.gov | legacy | As the Representative for Alabamas Second Congressional District, I believe my first job is to listen to those I represent and work on their behalf in Congress. Thats why before each vote I take, I first ask, How are the people I represent affected? And for me, the districts and Alabamas interests will always come first. The 2015 budget deal did not put Alabamas interests first, in a number of ways, and thats why I voted no. There were several reasons I could not support this deal that was passed by the House and Senate. To name a few, the top-down process by which the bill was conceived was all wrong, and I believe we could have charted a much stronger fiscal course. But, more specifically, I could not support the budget deal because of the way it broke faith with the agriculture community and gutted the crop insurance program by $3 billion.As someone who worked hard back in 2012 and 2013 to pass a good, conservative Farm Bill that actually saves money,I remember what a big deal it was when we ended direct farm payments and moved to a more conservative, sustainable crop insurance program. It was a needed reform, but it only worked because the agriculture community knew it could count on a reliable risk management program to keep an otherwisevolatileindustry stable. Not everyoneI work with in Congress represents a district with such a large agricultural footprint. WhatI try to explain to them is that when you mess around with the crop insurance program, you arent just affecting farmers who put the seed in the ground. Youre affecting the ones who sell the seed, who build the equipment to cultivate and harvest the crop, and those who help process the goods to their final products. That farming dollar turns over many times, and there is an entire agriculture supply chain that is affected by farm policies set by Congress.To come in and change the rules in the middle of the game is unfair, andI wont stand for it. Now the focus goes to fixing the problem. I have co-sponsored the Crop Insurance Restoration Act authored by my colleague Rep. David Young of Iowa to undo this irresponsible action. Im also looking forward to working alongside with Rep. Robert Aderholt, my fellow Alabamian and chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, to ensure proper crop insurance levels are restored on the Appropriations side. Remember you can always follow this and other important issues on my Facebook page and website, roby.house.gov. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |