,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hbgd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #af1 #bjbj ,mr4 ,kind 7for himself and ,mr4 ,gallagher7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,agriculture to establish the ,dairy ,pricing and ,policy ,commission1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,dairy ,pricing and ,policy ,commission ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,dairy ,pricing and ,policy ,commission 7a7 ,establishment ,not later than #f months after the date on which funds are first made available to carry out this section1 the ,secretary shall establish a commission to be known as the ,dairy ,pricing and ,policy ,commission 7in this section referred to as the ,commission74 7b7 ,study by ,commission ,the ,commission shall conduct1 with respect to the #aj-year period ending on the date of the enactment of this ,act1 a comprehensive study of the following3 7#a7 ,decreasing real values of dairy farmer milk prices and income4 7#b7 ,economic and policy causes for the declining number of small and medium sized dairy operations4 7#c7 ,levels of milk production in the ,united ,states with regional changes in farm numbers1 cow numbers1 and milk production per cow4 7#d7 ,opportunities and challenges for increasing domestic and export demand for dairy products4 7#e7 ,the effects of declining dairy farm numbers on rural economies4 7#f7 ,causes for the consolidation within the dairy industry4 7c7 ,recommendations ,in conducting the study pursuant to subsection 7b71 the ,commission shall develop legislative1 regulatory1 and market-based recommendations for the following3 7#a7 ,responding to periods of heightened dairy production during low prices by considering better supply chain coordination and market price signals4 7#b7 ,enhancing the competitiveness of ,american dairy producers and dairy products in world markets4 7#c7 ,evaluating and identifying challenges and opportunities for new markets for dairy exports4 7#d7 ,ensuring that ,federal ,milk ,marketing ,orders 7,,fmmo7 and ,,fmmo rulemakings are transparent and provide a fair return to producers regardless of the end product for which their milk is used4 7#e7 ,ensuring that the competitiveness of dairy products with other competing products in the marketplace is preserved and enhanced4 7d7 ,membership 7#a7 ,number and appointment ,the ,commission shall be composed of #ah members appointed by the ,secretary as follows3 7,a7 ,at least #a member representing a national consumer organization4 7,b7 ,at least #c members representing land-grant colleges and universities or covered ,,nlgca ,institutions1 with at least two of such members having expertise in economics4 7,c7 ,at least #a member representing the food and beverage retail sector4 7,d7 ,six dairy producers representing a variety of farming practices and sizes and #c dairy processors1 appointed so as to balance geographical distribution of milk production and dairy processing1 reflect major product segments of dairy processing1 and represent all regions of the ,united ,states equitably1 including ,states that operate outside of a ,federal ,milk ,marketing ,order4 7,e7 ,at least #b members shall represent dairy farmer1 cooperative1 or dairy processor1 associations4 7,f7 ,at least #b members shall represent dairy industry experts in the field of milk pricing1 finance1 marketing1 risk management1 consulting1 or advisory services 7or some combination thereof74 7#b7 ,terms ,each member shall be appointed for the duration of the ,commission4 7#c7 ,vacancy ,any vacancy occurring before the termination of the ,commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment4 7#d7 ,pay ,members shall serve without pay1 but shall be entitled to receive a reimbursement from the ,secretary from existing budget authority for reasonable expenses necessary to carry out the duties of the ,commission4 7#e7 ,chairperson ,the members shall elect a member to serve as ,chairperson of the ,commission for the duration of the ,commission4 7#f7 ,voting 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,commission is unable to reach a consensus on a proposed recommendation or determination1 the ,commission may decide the matter by majority vote of its members4 7,b7 ,tie votes ,the ,chairperson of the ,commission1 in addition to voting1 may also break any tie vote4 7e7 ,administrative support services ,the ,secretary shall provide to the ,commission the administrative support services necessary for the ,commission to carry out the requirements under this section4 7f7 ,report 7#a7 ,submission of report ,not later than #b years after the date of the first meeting of the ,commission1 the ,commission shall submit to the ,secretary and ,congress a report containing the results of the study conducted pursuant to subsection 7b71 including the legislative and regulatory recommendations developed pursuant to subsection 7c74 7#b7 ,opinions 7,a7 ,in general ,subject to subparagraph 7,b71 the report shall reflect1 to the extent practicable1 a consensus opinion of the members4 7,b7 ,exception ,if the members did not reach a consensus opinion with respect to a matter1 the report may include majority and minority findings regarding such matter4 7g7 ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act ,section #ad7;a77#b77;,b7 of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app42 relating to the termination of advisory committees7 shall not apply to the ,commission4 7h7 ,advisory nature ,the ,commission is wholly advisory in nature1 and the recommendations of the ,commission are nonbinding4 7i7 ,no effect on existing programs ,the ,secretary shall not allow the existence of the ,commission to impede1 delay1 or otherwise affect any decision-making process of the ,department of ,agriculture1 including any rulemaking procedures planned1 proposed1 or near completion4 7j7 ,administrative assistance ,the ,secretary shall provide administrative support to the ,commission1 and expend to carry out this section such funds as necessary from budget authority available to the ,secretary4 7k7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated #ej1jjj to carry out this section4 7l7 ,termination ,the ,commission shall terminate on the earlier of the following3 7#a7 ,the date of the submission of the report pursuant to subsection 7f74 7#b7 ,the date that is #b years after the date of the first meeting of the ,commission4 7m7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered ,,nlgca ,institution ,the term covered ,,nlgca ,institution means an institution that-- 7,a7 is an ,,nlgca ,institution2 and 7,b7 offers an accredited dairy economic program4 7#b7 ,federal milk marketing order ,the term ,federal milk marketing order means a ,federal milk marketing order issued under section #h;c of the ,agricultural ,adjustment ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fjh;c71 reenacted with amendments by the ,agricultural ,marketing ,agreement ,act of #aicg4 7#c7 ,land-grant colleges and universities ,the term land-grant colleges and universities has the meaning given such term in section #adjd of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cajc74 7#d7 ,,nlgca ,institution ,the term ,,nlgca ,institution has the meaning given such term in section #adjd of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cajc74 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture4