The American Dairy Coalition is making headway on federal policy that will create a reliable, 12-month dairy workforce.
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and former Chairman of the Agriculture Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who authored an amendment that led to the end of dairy supply management in the 2014 Farm Bill, spoke to the coalition attendees during its fly-in last month in Washington D.C. Goodlatte focused on his interest in helping the coalition pass a guest worker program for the dairy industry.
The American Dairy Coalition is working hard with Goodlatte, as his support is essential for House immigration reform. Nothing moves forward on this issue unless it moves through his committee. He has already moved the E-Verify policy out of his committee and one step closer to a floor vote.
The chairman believes that the dairy industry has been excluded from participating in a guest worker program for far too long, and that the H-2A program has unnecessarily burdened farmers with insufferable red tape and exposed them to frivolous litigation for far too long.
The chairman believes that an H-2C program, which will streamline access to a reliable dairy workforce and protect employers from abusive lawsuits, along with year-round labor needs must be in a guest worker bill.
He also wants the bill to recognize the vital role of our current workforce and give farmworkers who are currently working in the U.S. unlawfully the opportunity to work legally through the new H-2C program. However, unlike the AgJobs bill, or the Senate-passed immigration bill, the chairman’s bill will not provide a special pathway to citizenship for unlawful workers.
Goodlatte noted that the guest worker bill he introduced previously was not written in stone. He is asking the coalition to provide input, and he wants to collaborate in good faith with the coalition to create the best possible agricultural guest worker bill.
He is willing to modify his bill to resolve legitimate concerns that have been raised and is asking the coalition members to give him strong support and advocacy after the bill is revised. PD
—From American Dairy Coalition news release
