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Congressional Recess Offers Grassroots Opportunity with Lawmakers Congress begins its spring recess today, providing an excellent opportunity for IDFA members to reach out to legislators about priority dairy issues. For the next two weeks, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives will be back in their home districts to touch base with constituents. Congress will reconvene on April 4.IDFA encourages members to use this time to visit with these elected officials and educate them on key dairy industry issues on the current congressional agenda, including the proposed extension of the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program, possible tariffs on imported milk proteins and the passage of the U.S Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR). To assist with this process, IDFA is providing key messages for each of these important issues (see below). "Simply put, members of Congress listen to their voters," said IDFA Senior Vice President Chip Kunde. "When lawmakers are back home, they are looking to strengthen their local ties to the community. This is a great chance to lay the foundation for a relationship with your elected officials, or enhance an existing one. "Building relationships with federal legislators will significantly enhance our industry's support in Congress as we work to build demand for dairy products." This is a great time to invite your senators or representatives for a plant tour, sponsor a meet-and-greet or simply to talk with them. Please share your grassroots letters and feedback with IDFA. For more information on grassroots action, contact Meaghan Killion, mkillion@idfa.org or 202-220-3534.
OPPOSE EXTENSION OF THE MILC PROGRAM Background: There are two versions of the MILC legislation introduced in Congress. The first version — S. 273/H.R. 1260 (Coleman/Reynolds) — would extend MILC payments from expiring in September of 2005 for two more years (through September 2007) and double the production cap contained within the subsidy payment formula to 4.8 million gallons per year. The current MILC formula cap is 2.4 million gallons annually — a level that has already cost American taxpayers more than $2 billion since 2002. The Coleman/Reynolds modifications to the program would raise the cost considerably; a comparable measure last year was estimated to cost $2.4 billion.The second version of MILC legislation — S. 307/H.R. 859 (Santorum/Peterson) — would extend MILC payments through September 2007 without changing the formula cap, at a cost of $1.3 billion. (For background information on MILC, click here.) ACTION: Contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress and urge them to reject any legislation that would extend or expand the MILC subsidy program (S. 273/H.R. 1260 and S. 307/ H.R. 859). Instead, Congress should look for alternatives to the current system that are less market disruptive, compliant with world trade obligations, and help all farmers nationwide better manage market fluctuations. Click here to send a letter. REJECT MPC, CASEIN & CASEINATES TARIFF LEGISLATION Background: Representatives Don Sherwood (R-PA) and David Obey (D-WI) re-introduced legislation (H.R. 521) that would raise tariffs on imports of milk protein concentrates (MPC), casein and caseinates. The same bill was introduced in the last Congressional session, but did not advance. The U.S. Coalition for Nutritional Ingredients — an IDFA-led group of more than 50 associations, food companies, and taxpayer and consumer organizations — are working together to oppose the legislation.ACTION: Contact your House Representatives and urge them to oppose H.R. 521. Click here to send a letter. SUPPORT PASSAGE OF THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH CENTRAL AMERICA-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Background: The U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) would enable the U.S. dairy industry to export more dairy products duty-free and to have access to increased sugar imports. Currently, our trade to these countries is impaired because of large duties on U.S. dairy imports. The CAFTA-DR region is the fifth largest foreign market for U.S. dairy manufacturers and represents a growing opportunity for the industry.ACTION: Contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to support passage of the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR). Click here to send a letter.
Posted March 21, 2005
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