Support the Bipartisan Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act (AFFIRM)

Support the Bipartisan Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act (AFFIRM) Comments Off

May 15, 2013 Dear Representative, The undersigned organizations urge you to support the Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures (AFFIRM) Act recently introduced by Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI) and Tom Petri (R-WI). The AFFIRM Act would help rein in the spiraling cost of the federal crop insurance program, which has quickly become the most [...]

Farm Policy: The “Terrible Twelve” (That actually relate to farming)

Farm Policy: The “Terrible Twelve” (That actually relate to farming) Comments Off

Washington’s Farm Policy is a nearly trillion dollar tangle of agriculture subsidies, welfare payments and environmental patronage. There is tremendous need for reform. Current subsidy programs are rooted in the 1930s, when prices for crops and livestock bottomed out and farm families were desperate for income. Agriculture today could not be more different. Farmers are [...]

Coalition Letter to Senators on the Sugar Program

Coalition Letter to Senators on the Sugar Program Comments Off

Dear Senator, Over the next several weeks, policymakers in the House and the Senate will be marking up provisions for the 2013 Farm Bill. This year, greater attention will be focused on cutting back on wasteful agricultural programs that have long been pushed by special interests. On behalf of the members and supporters of the [...]

Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee on ECPA Amendments Act

Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee on ECPA Amendments Act Comments Off

April 22, 2013 The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy Chairman Senate Judiciary Committee The Honorable Charles Grassley Ranking Member Senate Judiciary Committee Dear Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley, We, the undersigned companies and organizations, are writing to express our support for Chairman Leahy’s and Sen. Lee’s ECPA Amendments Act, S. 607, which the Committee will [...]

Oppose the Marketplace Fairness Act!

Oppose the Marketplace Fairness Act! Comments Off

April 19, 2013 Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of the millions of citizens represented by the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to S. 743, the so-called “Marketplace Fairness Act.” Despite what some supporters claim, this legislation is bad news for conservative principles and the cause of limited government. It would dismantle proper [...]

Cutting the Corporate Tax Rate Means Cutting Corporate Taxes

Cutting the Corporate Tax Rate Means Cutting Corporate Taxes Comments Off

In 1986, the United States cut its corporate tax rate close to the current rate of 35 percent as part of broad, comprehensive tax reform at both the corporate and personal level. The reform gave the country one of the lower corporate tax rates in the developed world. In the 27 years since, we have [...]

Reinsurance Collateral Modernization in Texas

Reinsurance Collateral Modernization in Texas Comments Off

The Texas Legislature is considering changes to its reinsurance collateral rules based on the updated Credit for Reinsurance Model Law promulgated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. This briefing offers a summary outline of what reinsurance collateral is, and how moving to a more modern system will benefit Texas consumers. photo by: rcbodden

Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Create Committee to Reduce Government Waste

Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Create Committee to Reduce Government Waste Comments Off

April 3, 2013 The Honorable Pat Roberts109 Hart Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510 The Honorable Jeff Duncan116 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515 Dear Senator Roberts and Congressman Duncan, We write to encourage your colleagues to cosponsor and otherwise support your bill to create the Committee to Reduce Government Waste. This bill signals a serious step [...]

Spotlight on N.C.’s Auto Insurance System: Seven Things to Understand

Spotlight on N.C.’s Auto Insurance System: Seven Things to Understand Comments Off

Authored by R Street Senior Fellows R.J. Lehmann and Alan Smith, this paper outlines how the North Carolina Rate Bureau works and how it stifles competition and innovation. Among the key facts it highlights: North Carolina’s automobile insurance system guarantees profits to insurers. North Carolina’s current system makes it difficult—and undesirable—for insurers to offer innovative [...]

Support Begich-Flake Amendment #254

Support Begich-Flake Amendment #254 Comments Off

Dear Senator, The undersigned organizations urge you to support Begich-Flake amendment #254 to the Senate Budget Resolution to bring transparency to the federally subsidized crop insurance program. Federal taxpayers spent more than $14 billion on federal crop insurance in FY2012, including more than $7 billion in premium subsidies for producers who purchased crop insurance policies. [...]