Rep. David Valadao co-sponsors Farm Workforce Modernization Act

Julissa Zavala, The Hanford Sentinel, Calif.
·2 min read

Mar. 12—WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Congressman David G. Valadao signed on as an original co-sponsor to the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill negotiated to provide long-overdue stability to the agriculture industry and agricultural workers alike.

This legislation establishes a program for agriculture workers currently in the United States to earn legal status. This bill also changes the H-2A program to provide more flexibility for farmers employing immigrant farm workers, while also providing critical protections for the farm workers.

In addition, this legislation would allow dairy farmers to have access to year-round workers through the visa program.

"As the son of immigrants and lifelong dairy farmer, I know firsthand how desperately our agriculture workforce needs meaningful reform," Valadao said. "Many industries in the Central Valley rely heavily on immigrant labor. Our farm workers are absolutely critical to our collective mission of reliably feeding America, yet many live in fear due to an inability to gain legal status through our broken immigration system. Ensuring that our essential farm workers already in the states receive legal status, while also simplifying and streamlining the process for future farm workers to do the same, is just common sense."

Vessel-operating common carriers stranding American agricultural exports

This week, Valadao also joined his colleagues in sending a letter to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Michael A. Khouri, requesting monthly updates to Congress regarding the effective stranding of American agriculture exports at U.S. ports.

Reports have found certain vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs) are declining transport of American goods and electing rather to leave port with empty containers and pay corresponding fees, adding to the congestion and bottlenecks exporters already face.

"California produces more in agriculture exports than any other state, totaling nearly $22 billion in value in 2019, and our Central Valley farmers are especially key players in this sector of international trade," Valadao said. "The failure of VOCCs to adhere to reasonable carrier practices threatens our local economy and the livelihoods of producers reliant on these ocean carriers. The Central Valley is proud to feed the world, and it is entirely unacceptable for these carriers to exploit American agriculture producers. Resolving this issue is critical to the prosperity of our nation's agriculture industry, and I appreciate the Federal Maritime Commission's continued investigation into this pressing matter."

The Central Valley is consistently ranked among the highest of California's agriculture producers. As a lifelong dairy farmer, Valadao said he recognizes the important roles both domestic and overseas transportation play in supporting these local farmers.

Fact Finding No. 29, "International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain Engagement," was launched by the FMC in March 2020 and was expanded in November 2020 to investigate the potential wrongdoing of certain VOCCs. The ongoing investigation will serve to identify solutions to the export challenges introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic.