Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend from Texas for yielding. I rise today in strong support of the underlying legislation, H.R. 5083, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. This is a critical piece of legislation for my constituents, certainly in Central Washington, but for farmers and ranchers across the country in need of a stable and legal workforce. I am grateful for my friend, Representative Lofgren, for including Republicans in these negotiations and bringing together a diverse bipartisan group of Members of Congress, agricultural stakeholders, farmers and producers, labor unions and farmworker associations to write a piece of legislation that will go a long way toward providing certainty for our Ag industry. The House has failed to address Ag labor reform since 1986. For the last 30 years, the crisis facing farmers has only been exacerbated, and the need for fixes has become even more clear. Today, we have an opportunity to continue this process and bring relief to farmers and ranchers, not just those I represent, but dairy farmers in the Midwest, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Northeast, New York and Maine; the famous peach orchards of Georgia and South Carolina; and certainly the orange groves in Texas and the salad bowl of California and Arizona--all across the country. Like past efforts, this bill may not be the perfect solution, but it is a significant improvement over the status quo.…”