Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NEWHOUSE. Madam Speaker, let me be blunt: there is a crisis at our southern border. You have heard about it from my Republican colleagues and I over the past few days. Just this year, more than 200,000 people have illegally crossed our border, including four known terrorists.

We must do something to stop this disturbing trend. The U.S. is a country of law and order. We must continue working to reform our broken immigration laws and enhance our border security.

That is exactly what this legislation will do. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act is a truly bipartisan bill, negotiated over many months by agriculture and labor representatives alike, to ensure those who wish to can come to our country, abide by our laws and contribute to our farms, ranches, and local communities.

The bill creates an employment- and merit-based program for foreign workers to legally work in agriculture, eliminating incentives for illegal migration and strengthening both our national security and our national food supply chain.

This legislation streamlines our H-2A guest worker program, giving employers more flexibility and allowing access for year-round agriculture sectors like dairy and horticulture.

Finally, the bill phases in E-Verify. So, once these laws are in place, we can enforce them and ensure that workers maintain a legal work status.

Madam Speaker, I come from one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, where many of our crops are labor intensive. As much as producers would prefer to hire American workers to work in their fields, in their orchards, and in their dairies, there simply isn't enough interest among domestic workers to get these jobs done.

For decades, Congress has attempted to pass comprehensive immigration reform to address our agricultural workforce, but we have been unsuccessful. This bill is the targeted, bipartisan solution our farmers and ranchers need.

I want to thank Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Simpson, Mr. LaMalfa, and many others. I urge my colleagues to support this bill so we can get it to the President's desk for America's agricultural industry.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source