Angie Craig: “in speaking to conferees this afternoon in relation to the deficit reduction or the budget reconciliation process, this…”

“in speaking to conferees this afternoon in relation to the deficit reduction or the budget reconciliation process, this is an issue that, frankly, most Senators probably have not heard all that much about. Everyone agrees that the reconciliation act, or Deficit Reduction Act, is an attempt by Congress to rein in spending and to build the appropriate budget in this climate. This legislation makes tough cuts in important programs in all areas of Government. While nearly all programs are taking their lumps--if you will, sucking it up a bit--Congress is, ironically, considering increasing spending in a bill whose sole purpose is to decrease spending. The Senate's version of the Budget Reconciliation Act, or Deficit Reduction Act, includes a provision renewing the Milk Income Loss Contract Program, also known as the MILC Program, which currently expired in September of this year. The CBO has scored this renewal in costs to the taxpayers of $1 billion over a 2-year period. In other words, half a billion a year. This deserves much more attention than it got in the Senate. The MILC Dairy Price Support Program was included in the 2000 farm bill to create a permanent direct payment program to the dairy producers. During the farm bill debate, USDA warned that the new program would run counter to the old dairy price support program in place since the 1940s.…”