[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   NORTHEAST INTERSTATE DAIRY COMPACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, it is with disappointment that I rise 
today.
  I had hoped to bring before this body a matter of vital interest to 
my State and to all of New England. What I wanted to bring before this 
body was a bill to grant congressional consent to the Northeast 
Interstate Dairy Compact.
  Now, Madam President, the distinguished majority leader, George 
Mitchell, has worked so hard on this matter. Senator Mitchell has 
joined with both Republicans and Democrats, the Governors of every 
State in New England, the Senators of every State in New England to try 
to pass this compact.
  It is, however, being filibustered, and I am sorry that the Senator 
who is filibustering it is not here on the floor, but I understand that 
he would object to it being here. And because of the gridlock we are 
facing us it will not go forward. It is unfortunate.
  Madam President, I incidentally compliment the Presiding Officer for 
her support. When this was before the Senate Judiciary Committee I 
thank her for her willingness to let this come to the floor of Senate, 
and I realize her own concerns about aspects of it, but to at least 
allow the Senate to vote on it.
  I have no idea how she might have voted had it come to the floor of 
the Senate, but she was willing to allow it to come to a vote and not 
filibuster it.
  We all understand that interstate compacts are agreements among two 
or more States. The Constitution allows these interstate compacts. It 
is a way for States to work together on issues of interest to their 
citizens.
  For 200 years, following our Constitution, Congress has had this 
history of approving these compacts. In fact, I might say, Madam 
President, and to my colleagues on the floor at this midnight hour, 
Congress has a long history of approving these compacts. We approved 
several in the past few days.
  Here we have a compact where all 6 State legislatures in New England 
came together and voted for it.
  I might say, Madam President, if we think of New England as this kind 
of unique bicameral unified group of States, it is anything but. If 
there are a number of States more unique, more individualistic than the 
States of New England, I know of none. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, every one of these States are 
extraordinarily different, but they came together on this one issue.
  It passed incidentally overwhelmingly by the legislatures in each 
State.
  Now, it has to be approved by Congress to take effect, but it is an 
idea that originated in New England. People criticize Washington for 
being unresponsive to the States. They criticize Washington for being 
unresponsive to anybody outside the beltway. Here was a time when we 
could have proven them wrong. We could let the New England States do 
something on their own.
  But unfortunately, the Senator has blocked this in the wee hours, 
waning hours of this Congress. Using the rules he has the right, but I 
questioned his reason in doing it.
  The compact is simple. It would form a commission made up of 
representatives from each State in New England. The commission would be 
made up of both farmers and consumers. It would have the authority to 
set prices for fluid, or drinking milk, above the minimum prices set by 
the New England Federal milk marketing order.
  The compact's purpose is simple. It brings some fairness and sanity 
to milk pricing. Dairy farmers in Vermont and New England are receiving 
less for their milk than it cost to produce it. The people of New 
England want to take more control over how prices are set. The New 
England States want to help farmers by giving them a fair return for 
their work, and consumers want to have some kind of voice in setting 
stable milk prices.
  As I said earlier, the compact was supported overwhelmingly by the 
State legislatures in New England.
  Connecticut is not a major dairy State, but it passed 143 to 4 in the 
Connecticut House. It passed 38 to 0, as I recall, in the Rhode Island 
Senate.
  (Mr. LEVIN assumed the chair.)
  Mr. LEAHY. In fact, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
vote tallies in each State legislature be included in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact Committee--Interstate Compact 
                          Legislative Process

       Connecticut: (P.L. 93-320) House vote = 143-4; Senate vote 
     = 30-6. (Joint Committee on Environment voted bill out 22-2l; 
     Joint Committee on Government Administration and Relations 
     voted bill out 15-3; Joint Committee on Judiciary voted bill 
     out 28-0)
       Maine: Originally adopted Compact enabling legislation in 
     1989 (P.L. 89-437) Floor votes and Joint Committee on 
     Agriculture vote not recorded. The law was amended in 1993. 
     (P.L. 93-274) House vote = 114-1; Senate vote = 25-0. (Joint 
     Committee on Agriculture vote not recorded)
       Massachusetts: (P.L. 93-370) Approved by unrecorded voice 
     votes.
       New Hampshire: (P.L. 93-336) Senate vote = 18-4; House vote 
     = unrecorded voice vote; (Senate Committee on Interstate 
     Cooperation vote = unrecorded voice vote; House Committee on 
     Agriculture voted bill out 17-0.)
       Rhode Island: (P.L. 93-336) House vote = 80-7; Senate vote 
     = 38-0. (House Committee on Judiciary voted bill out 11-2; 
     Senate Committee on Judiciary voice vote not recorded.)
       Vermont: Originally adopted Compact in 1989. (P.L. 89-95) 
     House vote = unanimous voice vote; Senate vote = 29-1. The 
     law was amended in 1993. (P.L. 93-57) Floor voice votes, and 
     House and Senate Agriculture Committees voice votes, not 
     recorded.

  Mr. LEAHY. But it appears we are going to have to wait until next 
year.
  A lot of major initiatives have been derailed by gridlock here in the 
last few weeks of the session.
  I guess in a year of fill bus tires and gridlock the northeast 
interstate dairy compact was another victim.
  But my distinguished colleague from Vermont Senator Jeffords and I 
have worked very, very hard on this piece of legislation forming a 
bipartisan alliance on it. In fact our distinguished colleague in the 
House, Congressman Bernard Sanders, also worked very, very hard on it. 
If you want to have a nonpartisan alliance, Mr. President, this is one 
Democrat, one Republican, and one independent making up the whole 
congressional delegation for Vermont. We all join in this, one 
Democrat, one Republican, one independent. We all agree.
  I will admit that Senators on my side of the aisle have been 
instrumental until delaying the dairy compact. They were unwilling to 
set a time agreement despite the fact that the sponsors offered them 
many compromises including one that made it very, very clear, and 
Senator Jeffords and I pointed out this compact would not affect other 
regions. The milk processor lobby also fought this bill, and that is a 
powerful lobby I understand. But when the milk processor lobby fights 
such a bill it should come as no surprise because they fight every 
blooming bill that might help a dairy farmer.
  The Northeast Dairy Compact matter has been debated nearly 7 years in 
the State of New England. It is an idea from the grassroots. It is 
rooted in our deepest tradition of federalism. It is a way for the New 
England States to solve the problem on their own by taking more control 
of our milk pricing.
  Time is running out for many hard working dairy farmers of New 
England. The men and women in New England who are dairy farmers are 
among the hardest working people we will see any place in this country. 
I have to tell them they have to wait for next year.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record a 
letter I received from a farmer in Richford, VT.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 Richford, VT, September 13, 1994.
     Hon. Patrick Leahy,
     Attn: Chuck Ross VT State Director, Courthouse Plaza, Main 
       Street, Burlington, VT.
       Dear Senator Leahy: Prompt action is needed on the Proposed 
     Northeast Dairy Compact. Our small Vermont farms cannot 
     continue with milk prices falling as they are. We need these 
     farms to preserve our beautiful state and close knit farm 
     families.
       It pains me to see my daughter and son-in-law struggle to 
     continue milking cows with no financial reward.
           Sincerely,
                                                Clinton F. Holmes.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is a poignant testimony to this problem. 
It is a short letter. He is saying he hopes his children will be able 
to continue farming. It is a short letter. But in many ways it speaks 
more volumes than all of the hours of hearings and debate that we had 
on this bill and we have had hours of hearings. We have had hours of 
debate to get this far.
  So I want to thank some people who worked so hard on this measure. I 
thank Danny Smith and Bob Gray, who have worked tirelessly for this 
measure. I thank Tom Cosgrove of my own staff of the Senate Agriculture 
Committee, who has given up evenings and weekends, who has traveled to 
Vermont, who has worked so hard on this, and I am proud to have him 
here on the floor of the Senate with me.
  I appreciate the work of my good friend and colleague, Senator 
Jeffords. I cannot even think of the number of hours he spent 
buttonholing other Senators and calling them and proving to them this 
is a bipartisan effort.
  I thank the outstanding efforts of my two Judiciary Committee 
colleagues, Senator Kennedy from Massachusetts, who worked so hard on 
the Democratic side of the aisle, and Senator Cohen of Maine, who 
worked so hard on the Republican side of the aisle. They were 
instrumental in our ability to favorably report the bill from the 
committee.
  But it is especially important to commend the majority leader, 
Senator George Mitchell. Senator Mitchell has been with us from the 
beginning. He has been a wonderful leader. Frankly, I wish he could be 
our leader on our side for as long as I remain in the Senate. He is 
going to be impossible to replace.
  But I believe it is to his credit as we wind down this session that 
support for the bill comes not because he is majority leader, but it 
comes as his being a Senator from the great State of Maine, fighting 
for a bill that would help the farmers in his State who would be put in 
a very difficult situation. He has been always, first and foremost, a 
man who reflects the heart and soul of the very special region and a 
very special people.
  Mr. President, I see my friend and colleague from Vermont, Senator 
Jeffords, and I will yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, first of all, I thank my senior 
colleague from Vermont for his very articulate and well-expressed 
thoughts upon the matter of the Northeast Dairy Compact and also most 
assuredly second his comments on our new second circuit judge, Judge 
Parker. I will put in an appropriate statement in the Record tomorrow 
with respect to his nomination.

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