Arlen Specter: “I join today with thirty-eight of my colleagues to introduce legislation authorizing interstate dairy compacts. Members…”

“I join today with thirty-eight of my colleagues to introduce legislation authorizing interstate dairy compacts. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced similar legislation with 162 cosponsors, including 17 members of the Pennsylvania delegation. This legislation will create a much needed safety net for dairy farmers in the Northeast and other regions and will bring greater stability to the prices paid to farmers. The bill authorizes an Interstate Compact Commission to take such steps as necessary to assure consumers of an adequate local supply of fresh fluid milk and to assure the continued viability of dairy farming within the compact region. Specifically, states that choose to join a compact would enter into a voluntary agreement to create a minimum farm-price for milk within the compact region to form a safety net for dairy farmers when farm milk prices fall below the established compact price. This price would take into account the regional differences in the costs of production for milk, thereby providing dairy farmers with a fair and equitable price for their product. Specifically, the bill would authorize Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Maryland, and Ohio to join the existing Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, which has been in operation since July 1997. Most of these States have already agreed to join the Compact with strong support from their governors and legislatures.”