Tommy Thompson on Budget & Economy Former Secretary of H.H.S.; former Republican Governor (WI)

Build the roads and the jobs follow

We also increased spending on mass transportation by 140%, helping our workers get to and from their jobs. And we are leading the nation into an exciting new era of high-speed passenger rail with the help of Amtrak. We’ve taken a balanced approach to moving our products and people in Wisconsin.

Vetoed 255 spending bills totalling $43M

Gov. Thompson strengthened the budget by making 255 vetoes to cut a record $43 million in unnecessary spending. The governor also used his veto pen to eliminate $43 million in tax hikes on business, including $31 million in recycling taxes on companies.

Let state meat inspection suffice for interstate shipments.

• WHEREAS, The federal Meat and Poultry Inspection Act prohibits the interstate shipment of state inspected meat and poultry products; and
• WHEREAS, Twenty-five states, including eight in the Midwest, have developed individual state inspection programs for plants which do not currently participate in the interstate shipment of meat and poultry products; and
• WHEREAS, Despite meeting federal requirements enforced through a state program, the lack of federal program approval prohibits these smaller state inspected plants from shipping beef, pork, poultry, sheep, lamb, or goat products in commerce across state lines; and
• WHEREAS, This restriction unfairly and severely limits the smaller plants’ marketing options, particularly in the burgeoning Internet market; and
• WHEREAS, The Midwestern Governors strongly support meat and poultry inspection plans that protect public health; now therefore be it
• RESOLVED, That the Midwestern Governors urge Congress to pass legislation that removes this unfair marketing barrier but continues to insure safe meat and poultry products.

Foster dairy production that is market driven.

• WHEREAS, the Federal Milk Marketing Order System was created in 1937 to provide economic incentives to dairy farmers in order to provide sufficient fresh fluid milk for all Americans; and
• WHEREAS, the Federal Milk Marketing Order System has served its original purpose and the creation of the Interstate Highway System and refrigeration trucks have allowed fresh fluid milk to be easily transported throughout the country; and
• WHEREAS, studies show that dairy producers in the Midwest have comparative advantages that allow them to produce products more economically than dairy producers in other regions, yet under current conditions, our family dairy farmers and our states’ dairy infrastructure are at risk; and
• WHEREAS, the dairy industries in our states provide a vital underpinning of our states’ economies; and
• WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture should foster dairy production that is market driven; and
• WHEREAS, the 1996 Farm Bill charged the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to substantially reform and simplify the Federal Milk Marketing Order System; and
• WHEREAS, regional pricing solutions, such as compacts, could impede efforts to promote a market-oriented system and erect barriers to the export of dairy products from our states; now therefore be it
• RESOLVED, that the United States Department of Agriculture move forward to implement a new, streamlined system that more closely reflects the true national dairy market and that does not provide an unjustified pricing advantage or disadvantage to any region of the country.