Issue Position: Agriculture

Issue Position

Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District is home to many agricultural blessings, nurtured by the fertile soil and abundant water that rests atop the unique limestone foundation of the Bluegrass. From our signature equine, bourbon, and tobacco industries to the variety of food crops that are produced all across the Commonwealth, many Kentuckians' livelihoods are dependent upon agriculture.

That's why I have made supporting our region's farmers a top priority. Whether advocating for tobacco farmers before federal agencies, working to keep fuel and coal-fired electricity affordable, or supporting Kentucky's bid to bring the World Equestrian Games to Lexington for the second time, I will ensure that our agricultural communities are represented in Congress. I hope that you will join me in these pursuits and consider participating in the Sixth District Agriculture Coalition, dedicated to raising awareness of and seeking solutions to the issues that face the farmers of central and eastern Kentucky.

Among the legislative initiatives on agricultural issues that I have been proud to advance:

* I have introduced H.R. 1789, the Creating Crop Insurance Certainty for Farmers Act, and succeeded in having this language included in the House Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) bill. This important legislation would require advance public notice of any modification to be made in the terms or conditions of any insurance policy or plan under the Federal Crop Insurance Act and help ensure that our farmers have adequate notice of any change to their crop insurance policies, without the federal government pulling the rug out from under them.

* I voted in favor of H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) bill. This fiscally responsible legislation reforms our agricultural support programs to better serve farmers while saving billions in taxpayer dollars.

* I have cosponsored three bills to repeal the death tax. This immoral penalty particularly impacts farmers whose only crime was seeking to leave a family business to future generations.

* I signed a letter to the European Union's Ambassador to the United States, expressing my constituents' concerns regarding the European Union's recently proposed Tobacco Products Directive, which could harm Kentucky's tobacco exports.

* After learning of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) decision to apply sequestration cuts of 7.2 percent to the final installment of the Tobacco Transition Payment Program's (TTPP) Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) disbursements, my office took action on behalf of Sixth District farmers. I cosigned a bipartisan letter addressed to the Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and OMB expressing our opposition to the policy on the grounds that the funding used to compensate farmers does not include any taxpayer money. In a subsequent phone call with OMB, I referenced a provision in the Budget Control Act that provides sequester relief to money held in a trust, to include the TTPP funds. On December 20, I wrote another letter to OMB demanding timely answers and ultimately a resolution to the concerns we raised with their office. On January 6, 2014, OMB and the USDA announced intentions to reverse this decision and pay the full amount owed to farmers in accordance with the Budget Control Act. This bipartisan, bicameral effort successfully held federal bureaucrats to account, ensuring that Kentucky farmers will be paid what they are owed under the law.

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