Bill Clinton: “as I have often reminded my colleagues, New York State is an agricultural State. We are home to 36,000 farms, and our…”

“as I have often reminded my colleagues, New York State is an agricultural State. We are home to 36,000 farms, and our farmers are world-class producers of dairy products, apples, grapes, honey, maple syrup, great wines, and other fruits and vegetables. New York is truly a land of milk and honey--and so much more. Agriculture contributes almost $4 billion to New York's economy. More than 1.2 million people work on farms or in farm-related jobs. But farmers in New York who are contributing so much to our economy and way of life--in a plight shared by the agricultural industry across the country--face an incredible challenge to maintain a workforce that does the difficult job of harvesting crops and bringing our State's bounty to the marketplace. That is why I continue to fight for a solution. And as we consider the Craig and Feinstein amendments, I hope we can keep these farmers-- many of whom I have met and worked closely with these past 6 years--in our focus and put the politics and partisanship aside.”