The U.S. Senate recently passed the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill. It passed 82-15, as part of a package with two other funding measures, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill and Transportation, Housing and Housing and Urban Development bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee previously passed the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill in late June.

PIA is pleased that included in the Agriculture funding bill is report language reiterating Congress’s stance, first included in its 2022 year-end omnibus appropriations bill, that the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has the power to reinstate the inflation adjustment for crop agents without reopening the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA).

PIA has been advocating for the inclusion of this language in this year’s appropriations bill since receiving this response from the RMA administrator, which says that despite authorization from Congress in the 2022 omnibus, the RMA does not plan to reinstate the inflation adjustment on the basis that doing so would require reopening the SRA.

In late 2022, PIA and its allies successfully advocated for the inclusion of similar provisions in the omnibus stating the position of Congress, which was that RMA has the legal authority to reinstate the inflation adjustment without renegotiating the SRA. Despite Congress’s conclusion that RMA can restore the inflation adjustment without changing the SRA, RMA continues to say that it does not have the legal authority to do so.

The House Appropriations Committee included similar PIA-supported report language in its FY 24 Agriculture Appropriations bill and PIA is encouraging its passage on the House floor. PIA is also actively advocating for the reinstatement of inflation relief in the Farm Bill which is currently up for reauthorization.