Upton to Push Amendment for Ag Labor
Published: Friday, March 22, 2019
This year, Congress will consider legislation on immigration reform, but the current bill does not contain an agricultural component. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is working to include an amendment that would include a remedy for agriculture.
During a roundtable meeting last Friday in Paw Paw, Upton told area farmers that labor is the No. 1 issue for farmers in the 6th District.
The current H-2A program is "cumbersome and expensive," he said, but it's the only legal option available to growers who employ seasonal laborers.
Last year, more than 240,000 H-2A visas were granted, which was a record and a 21 percent increase from 2017.
While the Trump administration has pledged to modernize the H-2A program through regulatory reforms, Upton said a legislative solution is needed.
According to Upton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has identified immigration as one of her priority pieces of legislation this year. However, that bill does not contain an agriculture component. Upton said he is serving on a working group that wants to put forward a bipartisan amendment.
Congress is in recess this week.
Upton's goal is to "try to find the middle" where both Republicans and Democrats can agree.
In Southwest Michigan, the lack of workers is costing farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars per farm.
Fred Leitz, a tomato grower from Berrien County, suggested a "blue card" that would give authorization, but not citizenship, to workers who are already here. The blue card would allow them to cross the border and come back legally.
Leitz said the proposal would have a good chance of succeeding if the bill were combined with a proposal for the so-called dreamers — children of illegal immigrants who were born in this country.
Upton said that idea is just starting to "pop" in Washington.
Reacting to President Trump's 2020 Budget Proposal, Upton said the budget is "dead on arrival."
"It's not even on life support," he said, referring to cuts made to the Agriculture budget (see related story on page 1), Asian carp prevention and the National Institutes of Health budget.
Upton predicted there will be a continuing resolution that maintains current funding levels.
On trade, Tim Hood of Van Buren County wants the president to lift the Section 232 Tariffs that are in place on Canada and Mexico. Now that the U.S. has reached agreements with both trading partners, Hood said the administration should remove the tariffs, which would encourage Canada and Mexico to do the same.
Although Congress has yet to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Upton said it's up to the president to lift the tariffs.
Hood stressed that the USMCA deal needs to be ratified, and the tariffs lifted, before the agriculture sector can thrive again.
Mexico is the No. 1 export market for U.S. corn and a major buyer of U.S. dairy products.
Upton said he has met with U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer in recent weeks to press the issue, pointing out the damage that is being done to the U.S. economy. He is hoping to see some relief soon.
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