[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 138 (Saturday, October 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DAIRY MARKET ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2000

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                               speech of

                            HON. NICK SMITH

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 25, 2000

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. This is a bill to restore stability to 
America's dairy markets. I introduced the Dairy Market Enhancement Act 
of 2000, H.R. 5372 earlier this year. The bill establishes a fair and 
accurate reporting system for manufactured dairy products, requires 
independent verification for price reporting, and implements measures 
to ensure compliance with reporting and verification requirements. 
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced the companion bill in the 
Senate. This bill S. 2773 now goes to the White House where the 
President is expected to sign it into law.
  Recent reporting errors have highlighted the need to make reporting 
of dairy products mandatory, verifiable, and enforceable. While I 
recognize that this legislation will not solve the problem of low milk 
prices, it will go a long way toward assuring an accurate Federal order 
price and stabilizing month-to-month fluctuations for farmers.
  The bill requires that the U.S. Department of Agriculture use the 
current survey format as a starting point for mandatory reporting. In 
order to ensure accuracy, the bill allows the Secretary of Agriculture 
to require that reporting companies make their records available for 
department audit. Any willful and intentional violation of requirements 
to make accurate and timely reports is punishable by a civil fine of up 
to $20,000 under the terms of the bill. It also requires that USDA 
guard the confidentiality of information from each reporting company.
  Because the determination of the federal order price is based on the 
price of components such as butter, cheese, and dry milk, it is 
important to have processors report price and inventories. This bill 
makes such reporting mandatory to assure that farmers are paid a price 
that reflects the current demand for milk and milk products. This is 
good legislation and I'm glad my colleagues in Congress join us in 
recognizing its merits.




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