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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Among the most urgent issues facing Texas is the |
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recent prolonged drought, which has caused a number of crop |
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failures on irrigated land; those occurrences have highlighted the |
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necessity for policies that promote responsible water usage and |
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water conservation; and |
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WHEREAS, The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, managed by |
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the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of |
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Agriculture, supports the economic stability of agriculture |
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through its crop insurance program, which assists American farmers |
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and agricultural entities in managing risk and the threat of |
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natural disasters; in the event of a crop failure, however, current |
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FCIC policy requires farmers to demonstrate good faith practices, |
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which include watering the failed crop, in order to qualify for |
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insurance benefits; and |
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WHEREAS, The USDA could further help sustain the agricultural |
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industry and our precious water resources by developing provisions |
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that encourage water conservation when crop failures occur; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to encourage |
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the U.S. Department of Agriculture to revise existing policies that |
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promote the waste of water after an irrigated crop has been declared |
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a failure; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the secretary of agriculture, to the president of the Senate and the |
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speaker of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the |
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United States, to the chair of the House Committee on Agriculture |
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and the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, |
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and Forestry, and to all members of the Texas delegation to Congress |
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with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the |
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Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United |
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States of America. |