Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today, on behalf of myself and Senator Boxer, to introduce the California Federal Milk Marketing Order Act. This legislation will allow California's dairy industry to operate on a system that is consistent with the industry in other states. The bill is as simple and straight forward as it gets--it's only two paragraphs long. The first paragraph allows the California dairy producers to create their own ``regional order'' within the existing Federal Milk Marketing Order Program, if they elect to do so. If California dairy farmers do elect to join the Federal order, the second paragraph allows California to maintain its existing ``quota system,'' which I will explain in a moment. It is important for me to say up front how non-controversial this legislation should be. The legislation has broad bi-partisan support among the diverse California congressional delegation. The bill would likely add no new burden to the Federal taxpayer. Congress enacted an identical provision in 1996. But the provision expired along with the 1996 Farm Bill. So essentially, the legislation I am introducing today is simply the reauthorization of that no-cost provision. More importantly though, this legislation can help the struggling dairy industry. Prices have dipped back to near historic lows, and farmers are often milking their cows at or below the cost of production. In California, this has resulted in a drastic consolidation of the industry.…”