Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Fairness for Farmworkers Act, which I introduced today. Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, farmworkers continued to keep our country going.…
Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Fairness for Farmworkers Act, which I introduced today.
Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, farmworkers continued to keep our country going. This was especially true in California--the agricultural heart of the Nation. California is the most successful State in agricultural production and has the largest population of farmworkers. In fact, more than one-third of our country's vegetables and two-thirds of fruits and nuts come from California.
During a time of incredible hardship, farmworkers put food on the tables of millions of Americans despite working in extreme conditions and facing deep-rooted inequities in the workforce. The time to address these inequities is now.
While the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act established Federal standards for minimum wage and overtime pay, the law excluded millions of domestic and agricultural workers, who were overwhelmingly people of color.
In 2016, California recognized the need to provide farmworkers with overtime protections. The California overtime law, which ensures farmworkers have an equal right to overtime pay, is a model for this Federal bill.
Farmworkers in California and across the Nation deserve an end to discrimination in labor laws. As we work to rebuild from the pandemic, we must also undo the discriminatory exclusion of farmworkers by amending the Fair Labor Standards Act.
That is why I am proud to introduce this bill, which will improve the lives of farmworkers and their families, create equity in our food system, and benefit farming communities as the increased wages are spent in local businesses.
This bill will gradually implement overtime pay over the course of 4 years and bring greater equity to the American agricultural industry and greater prosperity to historically marginalized workers.
This legislation will also boost farming community economies as increased wages are spent in local businesses.
I want to thank Representative Grijalva for joining me in introducing this bill, and I hope our colleagues will join us in support of this bill that would provide a measure of long overdue fairness for our Nation's farmworkers.
Mr. President, the first thing you need to know about picking radishes is that it is hard work. You have to work literally on your knees, and you pick each radish out of the ground by hand--no machines, no tools.
I learned how to pick radishes and parsley about 3 weeks ago when I received an invitation from the United Farm Workers and the UFW Foundation to spend a day working alongside them in California.
Now, I have said countless times that, day in and day out, farmworkers show up to some of the hardest jobs in America. I have always believed that farmworkers are essential, but not until that day did I appreciate the physical demands of long hours on one's knees under the Sun.
Many of the workers picking radishes are older than I am and have worked in the fields for decades. They have labored through heat waves, through storms, wildfire smoke, and more. They have labored through a global health pandemic, and they are the backbone of our economy in helping to keep food on our tables. Yet the majority of farmworkers don't have legal status to live and work in the United States of America. That includes those I worked alongside who were picking radishes--people like Efren, who has worked on American farms for more than 40 years, and Patricia, who has raised her children here.
Several of them told me that one of the hardest parts of being undocumented was being cut off from their families in Mexico or in other countries, being denied the opportunity of seeing their mothers or their fathers one last time before passing away or being able to attend their funerals to pay their last respects.
Imagine that heartbreaking choice of never seeing your parents again because doing so means risking not being able to see your children ever again. That is the fate that we are forcing on countless undocumented farmworkers who fill our grocery stores with fruits and vegetables. This is the choice that
we exacerbate every time we push immigration reform off for another month, another year, another session of Congress. And this is why we must pass legislation that creates a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers.
Did you know that when you pick radishes, you get paid by the number of crates that you fill? On the day that I worked the fields, it comes as no surprise that I picked at a slower rate than the highly skilled and experienced farmworkers, who depend on speed for their livelihoods.
Yet laws across the country leave farmworkers in a position of uncertainty that few other workers have to face. If you are a farmworker and you miss a day of work, there is no paid sick leave. If you are a farmworker and you are injured on the job, you can't get disability insurance. And living and working while undocumented means worrying constantly about your status.
So when the Senate says that immigration reform can wait, we are not seeing the people whose lives are at stake: Isidro, Armando, Isabel, Epigemio. As they pick radishes, these workers are not taking jobs from American citizens. I repeat: They are not taking the jobs of American citizens. In fact, the opposite is true. We don't have enough farmworkers to meet the demand, not just for radishes but for countless other crops. As different produce comes into season, growers need skilled labor on tight timelines.
Corporate leaders, small business owners, and economists agree that we need more immigrants with more protections. The stakes for our economy are high. Right now, American families are paying higher prices not just at the gas pump but at the grocery store. Our labor shortage is contributing to higher inflation. Over $1 trillion of America's GDP is linked to agriculture.
All across the Nation, we rely on immigrant farmworkers. In North Carolina, agriculture is the top industry, aided by tens of thousands of undocumented workers in growing soybean, corn, and peanuts. In Idaho, agriculture accounts for 17 percent of the economic output, including a booming dairy industry. Around 90 percent of Idaho's dairy workers are foreign born, the vast majority undocumented. In Texas, agriculture is worth more than $20 billion each year. More than 100,000 immigrant workers, mostly undocumented, are employed on Texas's ranches, farms, and fields.
I can go on and on, but I think the point is clear: This is truly a national issue. The majority of all farmworkers lack legal status, and growers say that more help is needed.
Congress can make a difference. We can do so by passing the laws that farmworkers need and deserve. Our country cannot afford to wait. That is why it was the first bill I introduced--the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act--when I joined the Senate last year. I am talking about the workers who keep us healthy and safe and fed, the workers we as the Federal Government have deemed to be essential. They deserve dignity; they deserve respect; and they have earned a pathway to citizenship.
Today, I am also proud to introduce the Fairness for Farmworkers Act. This bill will support fair pay for agricultural workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In 1 day, I had just a small dose of the physically demanding life of a farmworker. Still, there is so much more that I could tell you about the kind, funny, generous individuals whom I worked alongside that day.
As we shared a lunch of homemade tortillas, beans, and carne con chiles, they told me about their hometowns that they miss, their favorite music, and their dreams for their children. They had one more message that they asked me to deliver, that they implored me to deliver to all of you, and that is that you should come too. I was the first U.S. Senator to accept an invitation to work in the fields. Last week, my friend and colleague Senator Booker became the second.
I urge you, each and every Member of the Senate, to take this opportunity, take a day to work alongside the heroes who feed America, and then come back here, as I have, humbled and inspired to do our job. Let's come together behind a solution so farmworkers can finally live and work with dignity and security.
Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Helping People Experiencing Substance Use Disorder and Homelessness Act, which I introduced today.
Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health, and unhoused individuals are often the victims of stark health disparities. Of the more than 580,000 people experiencing homelessness in the United States, an estimated 20 percent have a substance use and/or a mental health disorder. Mental health concerns, including substance use disorders, can cause and exacerbate homelessness.
A lack of affordable housing is the primary driver of homelessness, and we are working to address this issue. Another piece of the puzzle is to ensure housing and social service providers have the resources to work together to ensure access to supportive services.
That is why I am proud to introduce this bill to provide essential funding and tools for frontline organizations to coordinate health and homelessness services.
If enacted, it will create a Federal interagency working group to advise grantees on best practices. The grants will invest in programs to build the capacity necessary to combat the United States' dual homelessness and mental health crises.
I want to thank Representative Madeleine Dean for introducing this bill with me, and I hope our colleagues will join us in taking this key step to addressing challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID- 19 pandemic.
