[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E804-E805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE DAIRY AND SHEEP H-2A VISA ENHANCEMENT ACT (H.R. 
                                 1660)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN M. McHUGH

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 2009

  Mr. McHUGH. Madam Speaker, on March 23, 2009, the Gentleman from New 
York, Mr. Arcuri, the Gentleman from California, Mr. Nunes, the 
Gentleman from Utah, Mr. Bishop, and I introduced legislation, the 
Dairy and Sheep H-2A Visa Enhancement Act (H.R. 1660). This measure 
would allow dairy farmers to access the H-2A visa program and codify 
longstanding regulatory practices used by sheepherders and thus provide 
certainty to these two industries, which collectively accounted for 
over $141 billion in economic activity in 2007.
  In New York's 23rd District, which I have the privilege of 
representing, dairy is an integral component of the economy, with 
approximately 2,000 dairy farms with some 190,000 milk cows dispersed 
across the 11 counties that comprise the region. Dairy farmers have 
long overcome natural disasters and wide farm price fluctuations, such 
as the current nearly 50 percent decline in the price of milk from just 
one year ago. However, these difficulties are exacerbated by current 
labor shortages, which cause farms to either remain static in size, 
shrink, or make a decision to end a way of life and go out of business. 
Whether in New York or California, with a herd large or small, dairies 
need sufficiently trained and skilled labor.
  Dairy work is demanding and must be done around the clock, 365 days a 
year. During the past decade, dairy farms throughout the nation have 
increasingly experienced difficulty in hiring local workers to meet 
their needs and, as a result, are ever more reliant upon immigrant 
labor. The tremendous uncertainty regarding that labor supply has a 
profound impact on their ability to plan for the future and make sound 
business decisions.
  Under the H-2A program, employers may hire foreign workers to perform 
full-time, temporary or seasonal agricultural work. However, the H-2A 
program does not work effectively for dairy because the program 
requires both

[[Page E805]]

the worker and the job to be seasonal and temporary. Thus, the Dairy 
and Sheep H-2A Visa Enhancement Act would allow dairy farmers to 
legally hire foreign workers through the program for an initial period 
of three years with additional terms of three years thereafter without 
requiring intervening periods of absence.
  The bill would also allow sheep ranchers to hire foreign workers 
through the program on the same terms and codify those existing 
regulatory practices benefitting American sheep ranchers that have 
proven to be extremely successful. For more than 60 years, the American 
sheep industry has been able to utilize the H-2A program to employ 
foreign sheepherders.
  This legislation is currently supported by the following entities: 
Agri-Mark, Inc.; American AgCredit; American Sheep Industry 
Association; California Wool Growers Association; CoBank; Colorado Wool 
Growers Association; Dairy Farmers of America; Dairylea Cooperative 
Inc.; Farm Credit Services Southwest; Farm Credit of Western New York; 
Farm Credit West; Federal Land Bank Association of Kingsburg; First 
Pioneer Farm Credit; Idaho ACA; Idaho Wool Growers Association; 
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers; Montana Wool Growers Association; 
National Milk Producers Federation; Nevada Wool Growers Association; 
New York Farm Bureau; Northeast Dairy Farmers Cooperatives; Northeast 
States Association for Agricultural Stewardship; Northwest Farm Credit 
Services; Oregon Sheep Growers Association; St. Albans Cooperative 
Creamery; South East Farmers Association; United Dairymen of Arizona; 
Upstate-Niagara Cooperative; Utah Wool Growers Association; Washington 
State Sheep Producers; Western Range Association; Western United 
Dairymen; Wyoming Wool Growers Association; Yankee Farm Credit; and 
Yosemite Farm Credit.
  As I have previously stated, American dairy farmers and sheep 
ranchers deserve and need access to a stable source of legal workers. 
Accordingly, Congress should enact the Dairy and Sheep H-2A Visa 
Enhancement Act without undue delay.

                          ____________________