David Thomas: “Mr. Chairman, I imagine people trying to follow this who do not understand the dairy programs or agriculture programs…”

“Mr. Chairman, I imagine people trying to follow this who do not understand the dairy programs or agriculture programs are somewhat thoroughly confused right now. I will try to simplify it. This is about whose ox gets gored, or, more appropriately, whose milk cow dries up. Let me ask a question: If you have ever seen the University of Wisconsin basketball team, and they pan the student body, are those students wearing powdered milk hats, butter hats, or cheese hats? Guess what happens in this program supported by the Committee on Agriculture? Powdered milk phases out immediately; butter phases out immediately; cheese does not. Now, I am not standing up here saying that I do not have a cow in the corral. Since 1961, California decided on its own, without trying to affect the rest of the country, we wanted to fortify our milk. Up until recently, we did what we wanted to do and left the rest of the country alone. What has occurred over the last several years is that California cannot do what it wants to do anymore. Here is a Federal court order telling California that they cannot enforce their own milk solid standards. There is no guarantee in the committee bill that we can do what we want to do. There is a guarantee in the Solomon bill. We do not want to impose it on the rest of the country; we just want to do what we want to do.”