[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 22211]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT KOWTOW TO SPECIAL INTERESTS, INCLUDING DAIRY 
                                CARTELS

  (Mr. ROYCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, the price Americans pay for a gallon of milk 
is dependent upon how far they live from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Now, 
this is moodoo economics. In 1996, Congress passed and I supported the 
Freedom to Farm Act, which directed the Department of Agriculture to 
create a more market-oriented dairy program. Yet today some in Congress 
want us to take a step backwards away from reform.
  Today's bill would create a costly, burdensome bureaucracy. Dairy 
cartels are economically inefficient. They are protectionist. They are 
unfair. They cost the consumer $1 billion a year. Government should not 
be subsidizing businesses. We do not do it for computer chip factories 
or convenience stores. So instead of protecting dairy cartels, we ought 
to protect America's 250 million American taxpayers and consumers, and 
I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 1402. Stop milking our taxpayers. 
Do not kowtow to special interests.

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