Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released the following letter to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Dear Senator:

      On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I am writing to inform Senate Judiciary Committee members of CCAGW’s opposition to S. 1157, legislation that would extend and expand dairy compacts.  Although CCAGW is not being provided an opportunity to discuss our opposition to this legislation in the July 25 hearing, we nonetheless believe that it is important that we communicate the concerns of our members.

      Constitutionally, CCAGW believes that dairy compacts undermine the basic tenets of interstate commerce.  Interstate compacts were intended for cooperative efforts among states, not to wall off competition between states and regions, which is exactly what dairy compacts are intended to do.

      Furthermore, dairy compacts are unacceptable and bad policy for consumers and taxpayers.  In artificially raising milk prices, dairy compacts impose a regressive tax on a basic food, disproportionately affecting children and the poor.  This “milk tax” makes milk less affordable while encouraging excess production.

      Excess milk production ends up costing taxpayers, as evidenced by last year’s purchase of over half a billion dollars worth of surplus milk powder by the federal government.  Higher milk prices set by dairy compacts hit Americans twice, once at the store in a hidden tax, and again in higher tax burdens to cover rising government costs.

      If S. 1157 is enacted and the Northeast Compact is extended and Southern, Pacific Northwest and Intermountain Compacts are created, almost half of the nation’s milk supply and two-thirds of American consumers would be brought under the power of the milk-pricing cartels.  The “milk tax” for this expanded dairy compact region would amount to as much as $2 billion annually.

      CCAGW hopes that you will come down on the side of taxpayers and consumers and conclude that it is time to end this regressive “milk tax,” rather than impose it on millions more Americans.  As has been done in the past, CCAGW will consider a vote on this issue in its 2001 Congressional Ratings.

                                    Sincerely,    

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.