In a letter to the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, senators representing two of the nation’s largest dairy states have asked that the Dairy Security Act be excluded from the deficit reduction bill.
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) expressed their concern that the Dairy Security Act represents a new and controversial policy direction that should be openly debated.
“This problematic legislation has been recommended to the deficit reduction committee without consent from committee members or fellow Senators from states of which it will impact,” the Gillibrand and Johnson said in the letter. “The program is a significant shift in current policy and as such, should be openly debated instead of being negotiated behind closed doors.”
Johnson represents Wisconsin, which has the second highest milk production and more dairy farmers than any other. Gillibrand represents New York, which has the fourth highest milk production and the third highest in numbers of dairy farmers.