Arlen Specter: “I had sought recognition initially to discuss two other subjects. While the issue of Iraq is very much on the minds of…”

“I had sought recognition initially to discuss two other subjects. While the issue of Iraq is very much on the minds of the American people and the focus of attention worldwide, there are other important considerations which are pending and are of interest to Pennsylvanians and what is happening with the economy. We really cannot let our attention focus solely on Iraq. There are many matters which involve important economic issues and great numbers of jobs. That is a subject that is very much on my mind with respect to the Pennsylvania dairy farmers. I propose to introduce legislation this afternoon on that subject. Agriculture is the largest industry in Pennsylvania, and dairy is its single largest component. Pennsylvania is the fourth largest dairy producer in the Nation. We have approximately 10,300 dairy farms which produce $1.710 billion worth of milk each year. Regrettably, over the past decades, Pennsylvania has lost an average of 300 to 500 dairy farmers per year. In the years 1993 to 1998, Pennsylvania lost more than 11 percent of its dairy farmers.”