On behalf of the New England Governors' Conference, I am pleased to present to Congress this report on the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact's operation following the Compact's approval by Congress in 1996. Prepared by the Compact Commission's Executive Director, the report 1) summarizes the legal procedure by which the Compact was established by the states, authorized by the Congress and tested by the Courts; 2) explains the implementation and function of the market-wide price regulation adopted by the Compact Commission in accordance with the Compact; and 3) describes the Compact Commission operation as an interstate administrative agency.

As you review this report, please bear in mind the Compact's unique federalist design. Being the function of both state and federal sovereign legal action, the Compact is a true federalist endeavor. The Compact was established under law by the six New England states in the early 1990s, and with federal authorization, assumed the power of federal
law. This successful partnership in federalism has allowed the New England states to work formally and collectively as a group of states to regulate the New England milk marketplace.

While the report serves primarily to recount the record in facts and figures, we believe the report also convincingly establishes that the Northeast Dairy Compact h functioned successfully and as intended by congress in 1996. The report should allay the concerns
of those members of Congress still making up their minds, even if it cannot still the
voices of the most ardent opponents. Based on the recorrd we urge congress to
reauthorize the Compact, so that the Commission may continue its work on behalf of the New England public interest in milk market regulation.

 

Governor JOHN G. ROWLAND Connecticut CHAIRMAN

Governor LINCOLN C. ALMOND Rhode Island VICE CHAIRMAN

Governor ANGUS S. KING, JR Maine

Governor JANE SWIFT Massachusetts

Governor JEANE SHAHEEN New Hampshire

Governor HOWARD DEAN, M.D. Vermont