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No MILC in House Budget Bill, but Hastert Makes Promise for Conference In the early morning hours of November 18, the House of Representatives passed its budget reconciliation bill by a vote of 217-215 without including a renewal of the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program. However, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) made a commitment to several members of Congress that he would instruct House budget negotiators to secure an MILC extension through September 2007 during conference, where the differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget bill will be worked out before a final budget bill is sent to the president.Other last-minute deal making for House votes resulted in some controversial provisions and program changes that reduced mandatory spending cuts from $53.9 billion to $49.5 billion over the next five years. "The fact that a revival of the MILC program was not included in the House reconciliation package indicates of just how controversial and costly the subsidy has become," said IDFA Senior Vice President Chip Kunde. "In the end, we hope that Congress recognizes the serious flaws in this program and rejects its inclusion in the final budget-cutting package." As previously reported in News Update, on November 3, the full Senate passed its version of the bill that trimmed $35 billion from the budget. The Senate package included a two-year renewal of the MILC program at a cost of nearly $1 billion. IDFA will continue to advocate for a more unified, market-oriented approach to dairy safety nets. For more information on the MILC program, a sample advocacy letter or to use IDFA's online e-advocacy too to contact your congressional delegation, click here.
Posted November 21, 2005
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