(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), America’s largest taxpayer watchdog group, denounced House and Senate leaders for reported attempts to include in omnibus “must-pass” budget legislation a dairy package that includes a 22-month extension of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact and guts Administration reforms of the federal milk marketing orders.

“Dairy compact legislation has never been passed by either the House or Senate on a stand-alone vote, and has actually been defeated on the Senate floor,” remarked CCAGW President Thomas A. Schatz.  “The dairy compact was authorized on a temporary basis because of a back room deal in the 1996 Farm Bill ¾ and now it appears that the same shameless tactic is being used again.”

In 1998, CCAGW proposed elimination of the antiquated dairy price-fixing system known as federal milk marketing orders.  Elimination of milk marketing orders would save taxpayers at least $149 million and consumers at least $1 billion annually.  Schatz said that the Administration provided only minimal reform of the federal milk marketing orders, but that it was a step in the right direction.  “By reducing the number of marketing order areas and the disparity in mandated regional pricing differentials, the administration’s plan provided a small move toward reform,” Schatz stated.

CCAGW has also consistently argued against extension and expansion of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, which has cost New England’s consumers more than $70 million and was supposed to expire upon implementation of milk marketing order reform.  It is widely understood on Capitol Hill that Senate Majority Leader Lott is pushing for the extension of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact as a favor to Senator Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.) 

CCAGW believes that both the milk price fixing policies and the underhanded legislative procedures are outrageous.  “In the eleventh hour of a legislative session, there is a temptation to condemn those members of Congress that stand in the way of getting out of town,” Schatz noted.  “However, we applaud Senator Kohl (D-Wis.) and his efforts to prevent this costly and unfair back-door deal from being imposed on the nation’s taxpayers and consumers.”

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