Contact: Peggy Armstrong
(202) 220-3508
parmstrong@idfa.org
(Washington, D.C. – May 15, 2013) “IDFA is very encouraged by the growing support for the bipartisan, compromise Goodlatte-Scott approach to dairy policy, particularly from important dairy states like Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania. We are grateful to Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA) for offering a proposal that provides an effective safety net for dairy farmers but will not interfere in dairy markets by imposing limits on milk production.
“We expect that the Goodlatte-Scott amendment will be brought to a floor vote and that the House will ultimately take a strong position against a supply management policy that would restrict job growth, hurt middle-income families and add additional costs to nutrition programs that are losing funding in the Farm Bill. Also, the Goodlatte-Scott amendment would cost taxpayers less than the Dairy Security Act, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“The House vote was much closer than last year, and the amendment is clearly gaining momentum as it heads to the House floor. The amendment was supported by an overwhelming majority of the Republicans on the committee, including Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR), the chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over dairy programs. Several members, including Representatives Austin Scott (R-GA), Kristi Noem (R-SD), Martha Roby (R-AL) and Chris Gibson (R-NY), now oppose dairy supply management.
“Because the Dairy Security Act is designed to raise prices on consumers and would hurt businesses up and down the food chain, this is not simply a fight between dairy processors and dairy cooperatives. The Goodlatte-Scott amendment is supported by a broad coalition of nearly 150 restaurant associations, food and retail associations, conservative and anti-tax groups, consumer protection and watchdog groups, food manufacturers, and many dairy producer groups.”
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.