Ron Kind: “I rise in favor of this important bill, but with great disappointment in President Bush's failure to take affirmative…”

“I rise in favor of this important bill, but with great disappointment in President Bush's failure to take affirmative action to support the two-year extension of the Milk Income Loss Compensation (MILL) program to help Wisconsin's dairy farmers survive when milk prices plummet. Two days ago, President Bush came to Wisconsin to proclaim his support for extending the MILC program for our hardworking family dairy farmers. Today, that provision was stripped by the Republican leadership in Congress from the last bill the House will consider until after the November election. The Milk Income Loss Contract Program, was established by the 2002 Farm bill, and is the first national dairy program to transcend the usual regional tension that have arisen over past safety net proposals. The MILC provides a basic level of direct support to all dairy operations, regardless of the end use of the farmers' milk, by providing assistance only on the first 2.4 million pounds of production annually roughly equivalent to production of a 130 cow operation. As a result, nearly 86 percent of all dairy farms in the country, and nearly 90 percent in the Upper Midwest, are fully eligible for assistance under this limit. This counter-cyclical program has provided Wisconsin's struggling dairy farmers with $413 million in crucial assistance since its inception. Unfortunately, this national safety net for dairy farmers will expire in 2005 if we do not act quickly to extend it.”