Statement of Representative Tom Allen at the Monthly Meeting of the Northeast Dairy Compact Commission, July 9, 2001

The Maine delegation, as well as other members of the House and the Senate in the Northeast, are very concerned about the Northeast Dairy Compact. It is a remarkable achievement of only the last few years, and we want to see it preserved. What’s going on in the House is this, I am an original co-sponsor of the Dairy Consumers and Producers Protection Act of 2001, HR1827, which was introduced on May 14 of this year by my friend Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas. There are now 162 co-sponsors to that bill in the House. Largely because it’s not just the Northeast. There are people in the South, there are people in the Southwest, who are interested in forming some form of Compact. In my view, the Compact allows Maine dairy farmers who cannot compete with these large midwestern manufacturers that produce and sell milk at lower cost, to continue to operate. We’ve got 463 diary farms in Maine. Right now they have 220,000 acres, about 42,000 animals. This industry is vital. After potatoes it is our major agricultural industry. It is very important to the economy of this state and to the culture of this state. We can’t afford to let it go. Dairy farming is really part of America’s history, it’s part of Maine’s history, and it’s important to our health.

On May 24 Representative John Baldacci and I wrote to President Bush in response to an article in the New York Times suggesting that he might move against the Compact in retribution for Senator Jeffords’ party switch. John and I expressed our support for reauthorization of the Northeast Dairy Compact and our concern that politics not prevent its renewal. It’s my belief and one I know is shared by others, that our states and other states should not be punished because of Senator Jeffords’ decision to act in the best interests of his state. We also pointed out in that letter that agriculture of all kinds is always looking for counter-cyclical programs to help farmers survive in difficult times. This dairy compact provides a safety net without any cost to the Federal Government. It works. We’ve seen the Dairy Compact grown in importance States in both the Southeast and the West desire to create their own dairy compacts.

On June 13, here’s a sort of area of concern. I don’t know quite where the President is going with this. On June 13, in a letter to Chairman Bill Young of the Appropriations Committee in the House, the President expressed a desire to continue to study regulatory and statutory elements surrounding the Dairy Compact. Obviously we have no problem with some study, but it’s worth keeping in mind that this legislation expires on September 30. Congress, as you probably know, does not often move as expeditiously as it might. I’m very concerned that if this gets studied, if we don’t get to a mark-up from the relevant committees fairly soon, then I’m afraid the bill could expire.

I’m going to do everything I can to make sure the Dairy Compact survives, that the legislation is reauthorized, and that other parts of the country that want to form dairy compacts have the legal authority to do that.

Let me just say a word. The opponents will always say, “Well, those large, corporate farms in the Midwest are more efficient.” But they’re also farther away. The two points I would make: They’re also farther away. The cost of transportation to get their milk to the Northeast is roughly, it’s not going to lead, I think to cheaper milk for consumers here in the Northeast because transportation costs are substantial. But the impact on what Maine feels like – on our history, on our culture, on our open space could be dramatic. It seems to me that we have to do everything we can to preserve dairy farming in Maine and in the Northeast. That is a struggle. It’s going to be real work to get that done.

Congressman Baldacci’s just joined us, and the Maine delegation is united to do everything we can to preserve the Dairy Compact because we know it’s not just about farming, it’s about consumers as well. It’s about what this state feels like and looks like and what we want it to feel like and look like for now and centuries to come.

Thank you very much.