During a House Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) spoke about the wage floor for laborers on H-2A visas.
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00:00Chairman and Madam Secretary, it's great to have you with us and really appreciate the
00:05work you're doing and the commitments you're working on as well.
00:10I appreciated your statement about when farmers prosper, rural America prospers.
00:15I see that in spades in Michigan.
00:18And as I'm sure you're aware, Michigan is one of the most agriculturally diverse states.
00:24I represent a very active agriculture district in Michigan.
00:29My constituents represent a broad range of the issue from row crops to blueberries to
00:34cherries, apples, dairy, livestock.
00:38Each of these sectors has their own unique challenges, as you know.
00:43But one thing I've heard from all farmers across all types of agriculture is the hurt that the
00:48previous administration inflicted on them through extreme increases and the adverse effect wage
00:54rate.
00:54In fact, I asked your predecessor from the Biden administration about that when he was
01:00sitting in that very chair and talked with him about fifth and sixth generation farmers
01:07going out of business.
01:08And I was very disappointed with his response.
01:11It was basically, well, farms have always gone out of business.
01:14In Michigan, we're now paying more than $18 an hour for H-2A labor.
01:22And that, not to mention housing, transportation, application costs.
01:27And this is unsustainable for our family-owned farms.
01:31And it's in urgent need of correction.
01:34And I want to compliment you because you've already been talking with Secretary of Labor and
01:40working on this.
01:41And I also want to thank your staff because I participated in a phone call with them and
01:45Department of Labor staff to discuss this issue.
01:49I've introduced legislation.
01:51Many of our folks here on this committee have co-sponsored it that would pause the increase
01:57in the adverse effect wage rate and freeze it at the 2023 levels just to give some breathing
02:04room because it's in dire situation.
02:08But we do need a longer-term fix.
02:11And I believe it needs all hands on deck, team approach.
02:15And I believe you're the ideal person to help lead that.
02:18And so I guess what I'm asking for is your commitment to work with us on this.
02:24And you've already started that process.
02:26And we would very much like to be at the table and helping advocate for our farmers.
02:33And I also want to personally invite you to Michigan.
02:35I will be there.
02:36I'm coming.
02:37Listen, this is of utmost priority coming from the state of Texas and hearing that our citrus
02:43farmers down in South Texas spend on average $23 an hour under exactly the outline that
02:50you committed, including housing and some other things.
02:52And then right across a mile across the border, the country of Mexico for the exact same labor
02:58is spending $2 an hour, maybe at the most, our ag, our farmers can't survive that.
03:05There's no possible way.
03:06And so I don't agree, obviously, with my predecessor, Secretary Vilsack.
03:10We've got to fight for every single farmer, every single small farmer.
03:15We've got to open up access to get new people into farming.
03:19We lose our country if we can't support these smaller farmers.
03:24And that is, again, top of the list for me.
03:26Later today, I have a roundtable with about 20 small farmers from around the country.
03:30We're going to be rolling out a policy portfolio just focused on the small farmer.
03:35I've got four Amish farmers coming from Pennsylvania, farmers coming from Utah.
03:39I think I've got a couple from your state.
03:41And so this is a very, very important piece of solving for that very significant problem.
03:47Thank you very much.
03:48And I want to switch gears and talk a little bit about Maha.
03:51Thank you for sharing your insights on that.
03:56The role that milk and dairy products play in a healthy diet is, to me, indisputable.
04:03But in the prior administration, when they finalized a food package with women, infants, and children program,
04:11it reduced the eligible dairy allotment that could be purchased by a family each month.
04:16And it was even more troubling that they finalized this change because,
04:21considering that in the fiscal year 2024 spending agreement,
04:24we included a bipartisan directive for them not to do so.
04:28Knowing that dairy remains underconsumed and yet is a source of three key nutrients,
04:33of public health concern, are you open to exploring whether this change can be reversed administratively?
04:40Or if it can't, will you work with us to fix the problem legislatively?
04:44Yes, sir, 100%.
04:45And I think an important part of this is dietary guidelines.
04:49Secretary Kennedy and I are working on that together as we speak.
04:53We got a 453-page new set of dietary guidelines from the last administration.
04:59I won't say that we're starting from scratch,
05:01because I think a lot of well-intentioned people did a lot of good work on that.
05:05But you'll see by the end of this year, hopefully early fall,
05:08the new set of dietary guidelines coming out from our two agencies.
05:13And I think you will be very, very pleased.
05:15It will be very simple.
05:17It will speak directly to the American family.
05:20It will support our local farmers and producers.
05:22And it will ensure that the incredible product of milk is right up there at the top.
05:30Wonderful.
05:30And I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
05:32Thank you very much.