Richard Pombo: “Today, Madam Speaker, we are considering H.R. 1789, the reauthorization of the dairy indemnity program. H.R. 1789 was…”

“Today, Madam Speaker, we are considering H.R. 1789, the reauthorization of the dairy indemnity program. H.R. 1789 was introduced by the ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture, the gentleman from Texas, and I am glad to be an original cosponsor. In the overall scheme of things, the dairy indemnity program is a modest undertaking which reimburses dairymen when they are directed to remove their products from the market because of harmful residues occurring through no fault of the producer or the processors. Although this may be a small program, it can be vitally important to some of America's dairymen facing possible bankruptcy. Since 1964, the dairy indemnity program was routinely reauthorized without much notice or attention. Unfortunately, it seems that after the smoke cleared from deliberations of the last farm bill, this program had been overlooked, since no action was taken to reauthorize it. The recent rise in aflatoxin contamination in several States, however, has refocused attention on the need for this program. Therefore, H.R. 1789, which itself spends no money, would simply provide the authorization for this important program, which has quietly helped dairymen in trouble for over 20 years.”