[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 THE NORTHEAST INTERSTATE DAIRY COMPACT

                                 ______


                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 1994

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise as an original cosponsor of 
legislation to grant congressional consent to the Northeast interstate 
dairy compact. I commend the gentleman from Massachusetts, 
Representatives Olver, for introducing this important bill.
  Mr. Speaker, dairy farmers across the Northeast, especially those in 
my district in eastern Connecticut, operate under some of the most 
difficult circumstances of any across the country. Labor costs and 
property taxes are among the highest in the Nation. As suburbs continue 
to push out from our urban centers, thousands of acres of rented crop 
land are divided into building lots and sold. Farmers in the Northeast 
must import many feed products from the Midwest and the South, thereby 
driving up the prices of those commodities. Farmers are barely able to 
cover their production costs at current milk prices.
  Dairy farm income has been eroded over the last decade. The Northeast 
Dairy Compact Committee did a study comparing the prices farmers 
receive for their products and the prices for several other food 
products from 1985 to 1993. The study compared price changes using the 
Consumer Price Index with the period between 1982 and 1984 as a base. 
The study concluded that the price farmers received for their milk was 
lower in actual terms in all years of the study except 1990 than in the 
base years. Recent figures compiled by the U.S. Departments of Labor 
and Agriculture covering the period from 1973 to 1992 backed this up. 
The Departments concluded that in 1973 dairy farmers received an 
average return of $7.14 per hundredweight of milk. In 1992, farmers 
received an average of $5.86 per hundredweight in 1973 dollars. In 
addition, the Departments study concluded that farmer's share of the 
retail costs of all dairy products fell from 50 percent in 1982 to 36 
percent in 1992. It is obvious that the retailers are profiting at the 
expense of our dairy farmers.
  The bill we are introducing today would authorize the New England 
States to negotiate in an attempt to boost dairy farmer income. I want 
to make it very clear that this bill does not increase the price of 
milk in and of itself. It merely authorizes States to come together and 
explore methods of improving dairy farm income.
  When drafting the bill, we were very aware of the importance of 
providing for participation of consumers and for protecting their 
interests. Under the bill, each State will appoint three to five 
representatives to serve as the State's delegation to the Northeast 
Dairy Compact Commission. The delegation must include a farmer and a 
consumer representative. A majority vote of the State delegation is 
required to endorse any agreement. Moreover, for a price increase to be 
initiated in New England, the agreement must be approved by two-thirds 
of the States participating. In the case of New England, since Vermont 
and Maine are the primary States which export milk, at least two 
States, which are primarily consumer States, must vote for any 
agreement for it to become effective. Furthermore, any State may elect 
to exempt itself from the price agreement even if two-thirds of the 
States approve the agreement.
  Every New England State legislature and Governor has endorsed the 
compact process. The Connecticut House of Representatives and Senate 
enacted the compact into law by overwhelming margins. Farmers strongly 
support the compact and consumer groups have raised no serious 
objections.
  Mr. Speaker, the New England States are completely united in their 
support of the compact. I firmly believe that Congress should provide 
these States with the opportunity to explore how to improve farmer 
income. I believe the process set forth in this bill is very balanced 
and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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