Dairy groups are urging the Senate to consider passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
The House passed several immigration measures last week, but so far the Senate has not held hearings. The dairy industry says that the farmworker bill will give them the momentum they need in addressing labor issues.
The National Milk Producers Federation says that it would be a shame if the effort died.
“We’ve already heard that two members of the Senate... have said that they want to introduce a Senate version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act in the spring, and this is very good news because we need to have a Senate companion bill make some adjustments in the House version, changes that dairy and others would like to see made,” NMPF’s Chris Galen states. “But importantly, we need to build on the momentum coming out of the House vote last week. If we don’t get a bill through the Senate, then a lot of the work that we put into passing the bill through the House initially will be for naught.”
The dairy industry differs from other ag sectors because it requires guest workers year-round. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act addresses that element.
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