Six Jewish senators, from both parties and different regions of the United States, are among a group of  27 co-sponsors of legislation to extend price supports for dairy farmers until 2007.

The Jewish senators  included Republican Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Democratic Senators Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Charles Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon.

In announcing the bill in a Feb. 3 news release, Coleman made something of a gaffe when he said: "I am also very pleased to have worked across the political aisle, particularly with Senators Kohl, Leahy, and Specter to rack up over a quarter of the U.S. Senate from every region of the country to back the MILC bill – that’s very unusual in dairy.” Specter, although considered more liberal than Coleman, is a fellow Republican and therefore is on the same side of the political aisle.

Coleman said “MILC is a good program because it provides a safety net that is fair and equitable to farmers from every region of the country. It is also a market-oriented program that does not fix prices but simply provides a counter-cyclical safety net when prices are depressed. It seems only fair to me that my dairy farmers continue to have this safety net, just as my other farmers do.” 
—Donald H. Harrison