Tag: congress

IFPA expressed extreme disappointment today that Congress failed to include bipartisan agriculture immigration reform in the omnibus appropriations bill.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) sponsored and is looking for support for the Affordable and Secure Food Act, introduced December 15.

A bipartisan compromise bill for immigration reform appears dead, according to news reports, but a separate, smaller farm worker bill is in the works.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives have approved a measure enforcing the Biden administration’s agreement to settle the rail strike.

The U.S. national rail strike has been postponed, not averted. The major railroads and the railroad workers’ unions have been at an impasse since the summer.

What does the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act have to offer farm interests?

The International Fresh Produce Association commends leadership of the House Committee on Education and Labor for its recent commitment to the health of U.S. children via the introduction of the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, which includes several of IFPA’s recommendations including expanding access to school meals, providing funding for school kitchen equipment, extending WIC benefits to age six, and researching the impact of meal times on fruit and vegetable consumption.

Today national and state agricultural leaders joined Republican Members of Congress – including U.S. Representatives Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Jim Baird (R-IN), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Mike Simpson (R-ID) – to call on Congress to pass bipartisan workforce solutions to address the farm labor shortage in order to combat inflation.

In light of the final passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, International Fresh Produce Association Chief Public Policy Office, Robert Guenther issued the following statement: “The bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act (S. 3580) provides much needed relief for our nation’s ports, in particular for the fresh produce industry that relies heavily on reliable, efficient ocean transport of fresh produce.

One recurring element that is subject to the seesaws of partisan politics is the status of independent contractors versus paid employees, and it has a direct effect on truck drivers who deliver fresh produce.