US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is bringing US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to Capitol Hill on Wednesday (today) to discuss an effort Leahy is leading to boost USDA s floor price for purchasing dairy products. More than a dozen senators including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- from several regions of the country are expected to attend the meeting with Vilsack on Wednesday afternoon in the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing room.
Leahy two weeks ago organized a multi-regional Senate coalition to support a significant short-term hike in the price the federal government pays for milk and dairy products in the marketplace. Leahy said that raising the floor price would help reverse the plummeting milk prices that are threatening family farms in Vermont and across the nation. Congress has granted USDA the discretionary authority to do that. Leahy, the most senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was joined by 21 other senators in sending a letter on July 15 to Vilsack asking him to use that authority. In the letter, the senators said a temporary increase in USDA dairy price supports can help restore a meaningful safety net for America s farmers.
Source: Leahy's office. WASHINGTON (Wednesday, July 29) --
Leahy bring Ag Secretary to Capital Hill to boost dairy prices
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