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IDFA Succeeds in Efforts to Remove House Appropriations Amendments IDFA successfully lobbied last week to oppose an amendment to extend the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program an extra month and another amendment that would undercut the newly enacted Milk Regulatory Equity Act (MREA). The two provisions were not included in the U.S. House fiscal 2007 agriculture appropriations bill, which passed last week.The first amendment, proposed by Rep. David Obey (D-WI), would have boosted the MILC program's chances to be included in the next farm bill by allowing it to expire in the same month as the 2002 Farm Bill (September) instead of August 2007. In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and all representatives, IDFA urged members to reject the amendment and allow the Agriculture Committee to craft the next farm bill. "This action represents one of the first steps toward real dairy policy reform. We're certainly not against a safety net, but the MILC program distorts the market," said Chip Kunde, IDFA senior vice president. "This amendment had clear ramifications for the 2007 Farm Bill, and its removal lays the groundwork for developing a more market-oriented dairy policy." House Agriculture Chairman Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) offered the point of order on the Obey Amendment, which struck the language from the bill. As a member of the Milk Regulatory Equity Coalition, IDFA also worked with the National Milk Producers Federation and other industry organizations on a last-minute campaign urging representatives to vote against a second amendment, which would have altered the current Milk Regulatory Equity Act. This amendment, proposed and then withdrawn by Dave Reichert (R-WA), would have allowed large producer-handlers to be exempt under MREA. The current law applies to handlers producing more than 3 million pounds of milk per month, but the Reichert amendment would have allowed producer-handlers producing up to 9 million pounds each month to become exempt. "This amendment came out of nowhere. We responded quickly, working hand-in-hand with producers to ask legislators to oppose a provision that would have undercut the rulemaking process of the U.S. Department of Agriculture," Kunde said. Also during floor consideration of the bill, the House defeated an amendment proposed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to reform the federal sugar program by cutting the sugar loan rates by approximately 6%. Now that the House agriculture appropriations bill has passed, the Senate is expected to begin crafting its own version soon. IDFA will follow this process closely, working to thwart similar attempts to extend the MILC program or alter the MREA through the Senate bill. Posted May 30, 2006
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