[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 11 (Monday, February 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SANTORUM:
  S. 307. A bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 
2002 to extend national dairy market loss payments; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President I rise today to introduce a bill to 
extend the Milk Income Loss Contract, MILC program, the MILC Extension 
Act. In the 106th Congress, I called for a programmatic solution to 
market instability, when I introduced S. 2706, the National Dairy 
Farmers Fairness Act of 2000. S. 2706 was designed to eliminate the 
need for Congress to provide supplemental market loss payments to dairy 
producers by setting up a counter cyclical payment based on the market 
price of class III milk. Elements of S. 2706 were later borrowed to 
construct the MILC program, which was included in the 2002 Farm Bill.
  My bill would extend MILC for 2 years at current support levels. All 
commodity support programs, except MILC, were authorized for the full 
length of the current Farm Bill. As constructed, the MILC program 
provides a safety net for all dairy producers by providing a payment 
whenever the minimum monthly market price for Class I milk price in 
Boston falls below $16.94 per hundredweight, cwt. MILC represents a 
broad regional compromise and while it is not perfect, I recognize its 
importance as a safety net for dairy producers. As such I am working to 
extend the program until 2007 when Congress will consider the next Farm 
Bill.
  Budget constraints and compliance with our trade agreements requires 
us to reexamine the role of the federal government in agriculture. 
During this session of Congress I will engage in a focused effort to 
decrease direct payments and countercyclical programs. These 
discussions and reforms will be forthcoming, but allowing an important 
program that acts as a safety net for small farmers to expire would be 
too drastic of a first step.
  Others have suggested that we grow this program. I will be steadfast 
in my opposition to growing this program. Growing the size of this 
program sends a potentially dangerous signal to our producers. At a 
time when the experts are predicting that the market may soften over 
coming months, Congress should not send a signal to producers to 
increase production. Dairy producers should look to the market, not to 
Washington, DC, for guidance as they manage their businesses.
  As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee who represents the 
fourth largest dairy producing state in the nation, I am committed to 
preserving the viability of Pennsylvania's dairy farmers. This 
legislative proposal represents a commonsense approach in the often-
heated debate of dairy policy. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues, the President and the Secretary of Agriculture to extend 
this important program.

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