Arlen Specter: “this amendment is being offered in a very timely way. This is the first time on this bill that the amendment could be…”

“this amendment is being offered in a very timely way. This is the first time on this bill that the amendment could be offered, so I do not think it is accurate to say it is being offered at a late hour. The issues involved with the dairy compact are well known. The matter has been debated extensively recently in the Senate Chamber. The Northeast Dairy Compact is due to expire on September 30. The pending legislation dealing with the farm issue makes it preeminently appropriate to offer this amendment. The dairy compact, as envisioned in this bill, would reauthorize and extend the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact which consists of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to include Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland. It would authorize the Southern Dairy Compact for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. It would authorize a specific Northwest Dairy Compact within 3 years for the States of California, Oregon, and Washington, and would authorize an Intermountain Dairy Compact within 3 years for the States of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. A dairy compact creates a regional commission of delegates from each of the participating States.”