USApple on FWMA Pt 1

From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. The lame-duck session of Congress is in its final days before the holiday break, and the tree fruit industry is watching closely to see if the Senate can pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act … that’s already passed in the House of Representatives.

USApple president and CEO, Jim Bair tells me, it’s going to be an uphill climb …

BAIR … “Yeah, it’s sure not going to be easy Bob. And, you and I have talked many times about this, and we’re kind of in desperation mode here, not just desperation for the labor-focused agriculture in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s desperation mode for those of us who work in the other Washington, in D.C.”

Given the ag labor situation, Bair says it’s critical …

BAIR … “We’ve got to get something passed. As you say, we’ve got it passed through the House of Representatives twice, which is remarkable in itself because Congress doesn’t play very nicely together anymore.”

But with the clock ticking, Bair says it has to be now …

BAIR … “And it’s critical that it gets done, if possible, this month in December because, if not, a new Congress convenes next year and it wipes the slate clean. Everything has to start all over and the new Republican majority that’s coming into the House of Representatives has already told us, to our face, that they’re not touching this issue.”

Tune in tomorrow for more on USApple president Jim Bair’s take on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act … and why it’s so important.