[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Page 30842]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 30842]]

                      GOOD NEWS FOR RURAL NEW YORK

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today I am happy to say there is good 
news in the omnibus budget bill for rural New Yorkers in two ways. The 
Satellite Home Viewer Act will finally allow rural residents in rural 
areas to receive local television programming, and the dairy language 
in the omnibus final package allows both option 1-A and the New England 
Dairy Compact to continue. Let me touch on both of these. It is clearly 
two dollops of good news for rural New Yorkers.
  On the satellite bill, I have had constituent after constituent in 
areas such as Allegany County and Chenango County and Steuben County 
and Ulster County, throughout New York State in rural areas, tell me 
all of a sudden they were unable to receive over the air signals to 
receive local satellite programming. Imagine being cut off. Imagine for 
years depending on the weather reports before you took your kids to 
school or because you are a farmer and then not being able to get them. 
Imagine having your local news shows cut off. Imagine not being able to 
see things your family was accustomed to seeing, all because of a court 
action.
  Today, that bill, that court action, is being overruled in the 
omnibus act. I am delighted to say half a million New York residents 
will now be able to get their local signal from their satellite which 
they were not able to do before--half a million people, all back the 
way they should be.
  I hope we will continue the progress of the Satellite Home Viewer 
Act. The Federal provision was taken out. I understand the Senate 
Banking Committee plans to hold hearings next year to ensure that 
multiservice providers are encouraged to extend competition. I want to 
work with my colleagues to make sure my constituents in upstate rural 
New York, central New York, the west and southern tier, and in the 
north country have the same viewing options as those in downstate.
  The other bit of good news, of course, is the dairy language in the 
final bill. First, I know some of my colleagues from Wisconsin and 
Minnesota have labored long and hard on behalf of their constituents in 
this regard. I salute their hard work, their tenacity, and their 
diligence. I heard the Senator from Minnesota say the average dairy 
farm in his State has 60 cows. It is no different in New York. We don't 
have large farms, by and large. We shouldn't be pitting one against the 
other. Without 1-A and without the dairy compact we would have had 
desperate times in rural New York for our dairy farmers. We are the 
third largest dairy State. Dairy is a vital industry in much of New 
York.
  If option 1-B were allowed to be implemented, New York would 
experience the single largest loss of any State, $30.5 million a year. 
Compacts, of course, are necessary. The 1-A option passed both Houses. 
This is not something being done in the dark of night and not being 
debated. Both Houses, after full debate, passed both compacts.
  I say with all due respect to my colleagues from Minnesota and 
Wisconsin, it is they who seek to thwart the will of the majority of 
the House and the Senate when they try at the last minute to stop an 
omnibus bill from going through. We need this compact.
  In New York and New England, the price of milk has not risen by more 
than 4 cents over the national average in every given year. I say to my 
downstate constituents, to keep an industry vital to all New Yorkers 
going, is it worth it to pay that 4 cents? Almost everyone says yes. 
With senior citizen centers, WIC, and other types of good programs 
being exempt, this is a worthy piece of legislation. I think it is a 
good day for the dairy farmers of New York.
  It is not all we wanted; I admit that. We want New York to be added 
to the Northeast Dairy Compact, and we will fight like the devil to 
make that happen in future years. Without 1-A and the existing dairy 
compact, which still benefits New York dairy farms in the north country 
and places such as Washington and Warren Counties and in central New 
York, those areas without the New England Dairy Compact, we would have 
suffered dramatically. Adding insult to injury, not having option 1-A 
would have been devastating.
  In the last decade, New York State has lost one-third of its dairy 
farms, 13,000 to 8,600. The dairy compact and option 1-A will help my 
State and region retain this vital and cherished industry. I believe 
that can be done not at the expense of our counterparts in the Midwest.
  In conclusion, it is a good day for rural New Yorkers in this omnibus 
bill. No. 1, the Satellite Home Viewer Act will allow half a million 
New York families to receive local signal once again; and, an extension 
of the dairy compact, as well as extension of option 1-A, will allow 
our dairy farmers who have been struggling over the last decade to have 
a better chance to survive, to grow, and to prosper in one of the 
industries most vital to all of New York State.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous agreement, the Senator from 
Maine is recognized.

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