The Biden administration released its fiscal year 2023 (FY23) budget request on March 28. The budget request includes $31.13 billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture for the next fiscal year, $2.6 billion more than fiscal year 2022 levels, according to the department. Most notably for PIA, for the second year in a row, we have avoided proposed cuts to the federal crop insurance program in the budget request.

The budget request is released every year by each administration and amounts to a wish list of what that administrations’ funding priorities are for the year. While it is never enacted exactly as it is released, a budget request signals the priorities of the administration as the House and Senate appropriations committees work to fund federal government programs throughout the year.

For much of the last decade billions of dollars in cuts to crop insurance have been included in presidential budget requests. Administrations from both parties have tried to cut funding to the crop insurance program using the budget and appropriations process in recent years. PIA, along with our industry allies, have advocated against any cuts to the program for years. We are pleased that the administration has heard our message about the adverse impact cutting the crop insurance program would have.

PIA will continue to advocate for no cuts to the program as the budget and appropriations process continues.