North Dakota Senators Upset About President Trump’s Cuts to Crop Insurance Programs

The budget battle begins but North Dakota's senators are not happy with the president's decision on crop insurance

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump’s first budget is out and the battle begins on both sides of the aisle.

But North Dakota’s two U.S. Senators are in agreement about one section of the budget: crop insurance.

Republican Senator John Hoeven and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp both say cuts to the crop insurance program are unacceptable.

Heitkamp says the president’s budget leaves North Dakota and rural America out in the cold.

Hoeven says we need to prioritize funding programs important to our producers and rural communities.

“For example, the proposed cuts to crop insurance don’t work,” said Sen. Hoeven. “That’s one of our farmers most important risk management tools. “In fact, in the Farm Bill, we wrote right into the law that the administration cannot take funding out of crop insurance.”

“It’s absolutely going in the wrong direction,” said Sen. Heitkamp. “We’re going to fight to restore all of these cuts and continue to inform the public of what’s in this budget and how we’re going to change this budget. As far as I’m concerned, for rural America, this budget gets an “F”.”

Heitkamp is also concerned about a nearly billion dollar cut from Army Corps of Engineers construction funding, which could impact critical flood protection projects.