[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 14, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Brown):
  S. 1783. A bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to 
provide for country of origin labeling for dairy products; to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, all across the country, family dairy 
farms are in dire straits. In Minnesota alone, 200 dairy farms have 
closed this year. There is no single cause for this crisis. Family 
dairy farmers are confronting an unprecedented global recession, 
consolidation in the market, high feed prices, and unpredictable price 
swings--all at the same time.
  Since arriving in Washington, I have been proud to work with my dairy 
State colleagues in order to give our family farmers the tools they 
need to weather this storm. In July, Senators from the midwest, the 
northeast, and the southwest worked together with Secretary Vilsack to 
raise price supports. Just last week we provided the Department of 
Agriculture with another $350 million for price supports in the annual 
agriculture spending bill. Unfortunately, raising price supports alone 
won't calm the economic storm.
  Just as there is no single cause for this, there is no single 
solution. Our family farmers need multiple tools in their shed. Today, 
I am introducing a bill with Senator Feingold and Senator Brown to give 
our family farmers another tool.
  The Dairy Country Of Origin Labeling Act, or Dairy COOL, is really 
pretty simple--it would extend mandatory country of origin labeling to 
dairy products. The current country of origin labeling law, which went 
into effect last year, applies to meats, produce, and nuts, but it 
doesn't include dairy products. Our bill would simply add dairy 
products--such as milk, ice cream and cheese--to the list.
  Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio dairy farmers, as well as family 
farmers across the Nation, have the right to distinguish their products 
from imported products. As families do their weekly grocery shopping, 
they should have the option of putting milk, cheese, and ice cream from 
our own family farms into their cart. It is more than ``from farm to 
table''--it's really ``from one family to another.''
  Families are what this is about. Hardly a week goes by where you 
don't hear another story of contaminated food and toys coming in from 
foreign shores. Labeling our dairy products lets parents make smarter 
choices at the grocery store.
  This bill isn't a silver bullet, but it does give family farms 
another tool that will help them weather the current storm, grow a 
little stronger, and keep our families a little safer.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1783

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Dairy COOL Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS.

       (a) Definitions.--Section 281 of the Agricultural Marketing 
     Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)--
       (i) in clause (x), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (ii) in clause (xi), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(xii) dairy products.''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``(other than clause 
     (xii) of that subparagraph)'' after ``subparagraph (A)'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (9) as 
     paragraphs (4) through (10), respectively; and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) Dairy product.--The term `dairy product' means--
       ``(A) fluid milk;
       ``(B) cheese, including cottage cheese and cream cheese;
       ``(C) yogurt;
       ``(D) ice cream;
       ``(E) butter; and
       ``(F) any other dairy product.''.
       (b) Notice of Country of Origin.--Section 282(a) of the 
     Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a(a)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Designation of country of origin for dairy 
     products.--
       ``(A) In general.--A retailer of a covered commodity that 
     is a dairy product shall designate the origin of the covered 
     commodity as--
       ``(i) each country in which or from the 1 or more dairy 
     ingredients or dairy components of the covered commodity were 
     produced, originated, or sourced; and
       ``(ii) each country in which the covered commodity was 
     processed.
       ``(B) State, region, locality of the united states.--With 
     respect to a covered commodity that is a dairy product 
     produced exclusively in the United States, designation by a 
     retailer of the State, region, or locality of the United 
     States where the covered commodity was produced shall be 
     sufficient to identify the United States as the country of 
     origin.''.

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