[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31306]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 31306]]

   CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R.  3194, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS AND 
             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. TAMMY BALDWIN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 1999

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to explain the reasons I voted 
against the Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report. This bill has 
both good and bad parts. But unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the bad 
outweighs the good.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill contains disastrous dairy policy. It allows 
the Northeast Dairy Compact, a pricing scheme that gives dairy farmers 
in the six Northeastern states higher prices for their milk, to 
continue for two more years. The House has never debated nor voted on 
this policy, which places Wisconsin dairy farmers at a disadvantage. It 
is wrong to add this measure to this must-pass legislation without 
debate. This bill also reverses what Congress asked the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to do in 1996--reform the antiquated 
milk market order system. For over sixty years, Wisconsin farmers have 
struggled with the inequity of the current pricing system, which sets 
milk prices according to the distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The 
USDA, doing Congress' will, revamped the current milk pricing system to 
be more fair, and more market oriented. But in this bill, Congress has 
reversed itself, and allowed the unfair, depression era status quo to 
prevail.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill does contain some of the important priorities 
that I strongly support. I wish they had not been packaged with the 
objectionable items that forced me to vote against the bill. The bill 
provides funding for the class size initiative that permits the hiring 
of 100,000 new teachers so that our children can have smaller, more 
effective classes. It also provides funding for the COPS program which 
puts more neighborhood police officers in our communities. These are 
both important programs that provide necessary resources to our local 
communities. I also regret that I was unable to vote to restore the 
Medicare cuts that were included in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to next year's session, when I hope we 
will take up some of the unfinished business of this year.

                          ____________________