Booker, Lee Urge USDA for Greater Transparency in Dairy Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Mike Lee (R-UT) expressed concern in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its failure to publish annual reports to Congress on its dairy checkoff programs and urged the Department to take immediate action.

Federal law – enacted by the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 — mandates that the USDA submit annual reports on the dairy checkoff to Congress. The reports need to detail the activities conducted, account for the receipt and disbursement of funds, and include an independent analysis of the effectiveness of the dairy checkoff program. However, the USDA has not provided reports for 2021 and 2022, and only published 2020’s report last week, hours after receiving Booker and Lee’s letter.

“We write to express deep concern regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ongoing failure to publish annual reports to Congress on the National Dairy Promotion and Research Program and the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Program,” wrote Senators Booker and Lee to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack.

Further, Senators Booker and Lee raised concerns about the lack of transparency in how dairy producer’s dollars are spent since the last report was submitted to Congress.

“America’s dairy farmers have paid nearly $1 billion in mandatory checkoff fees [since 2019] to the National Dairy Promotion and Research Program. At the same time, we have witnessed the loss of more than 6,000 dairy operations across our rural communities. The time is now for your Department to disclose how these dollars were spent and evaluate the effectiveness of those efforts,” continued the Senators.

Senators Booker and Lee concluded the letter by requesting the release of the outstanding reports. They also requested a written justification by September 29, 2023 if the USDA continues to fail to publish these reports.

The letter is cosigned by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); U.S. Representatives Nancy Mace (R-SC), Dina Titus (D-NV), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Luis Correa (D-CA), Greg Casar (D-TX), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

The letter can be found here.