National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern issued the following statement supporting congressional action to resolve critical immigration issues facing the U.S. dairy industry:
“We applaud Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for their efforts to begin advancing the process in this Congress on immigration legislation. Rep. Lofgren and Sen. Feinstein have long been leaders in the immigration policy debate, and we look forward to working with them this Congress.
“The Agricultural Worker Program Act, introduced this week in both chambers of Congress, works to address agriculture’s needs by providing farmers with access to a legal workforce, a key element in the solution to the dairy industry’s workforce challenges.
“NMPF is eager to work with Rep. Lofgren and Ranking Member Feinstein on this issue, as well as on solutions to establish a program for future agricultural workers, which is another critically important component of the debate.
“As we have with previous legislative efforts, NMPF looks forward to working with Congress to enact a solution to our industry’s critical workforce challenges. This bill enables that conversation to start and we commend its introduction.”
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, Virginia, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.
