Congressman Joyce Acts to Address Labor Shortage in Dairy Industry

Congressman John Joyce (PA-13) today introduced bipartisan legislation that will address the labor crisis in Pennsylvania's dairy industry and allow farmers to hire more temporary foreign born workers. The Dairy and Sheep H--2A Visa Enhancement Act will amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to include dairy workers in the H-2A nonimmigrant visa category.

The Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the lawful admission into the United States of temporary, nonimmigrant workers (H-2A workers) to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. Any employer using H-2A workers must have initially attempted to find U.S. workers to fill these jobs. Under current law, dairy workers cannot receive H-2A visas because the industry is not considered seasonal, but Joyce's legislation will change the statute and provide temporary dairy workers from outside of the United States a three-year initial period of admission with additional three-year extensions.

"It is clear that one of the reasons our dairy farmers in Pennsylvania's 13th District are struggling is because they are lacking the manpower that they need to produce their goods and get them to market," said Congressman Joyce. "Milk production in our country relies heavily on our migrant workers, and for far too long Congress has harmed the dairy industry by failing to fix our broken immigration system. This small change to the H-2A visa classification will come as welcome news to our dairy farmers and will give them flexibility that they need to be more efficient and profitable."

Nearly 20 percent of Pennsylvania's dairy farms and over a quarter of the state's total milk cows reside in the counties that make up the 13th District. Pennsylvania is the 6th leading state in the country for dairy production. Texas A&M recently found that over half of the dairy industry's workforce is made up of foreign born workers.

Jim Mulhern, President & CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation said of the legislation, "It is critical that Congress enact legislation to address the unique workforce needs of dairy producers. Without the help of foreign labor, many American dairy operations would face the threat of closure. We thank Reps. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) and John Joyce (R-PA) for their bipartisan effort to lay down a marker that this issue must be addressed in any future immigration legislation. As discussions continue, we look forward to working with them to see this issue to a positive resolution."

Joyce partnered on the legislation with Congressman Anthony Brindisi (D-NY). This is the third initiative Joyce and his fellow freshman colleague from New York have teamed up on since taking office.

In January Joyce and Brindisi led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner (FDA) Scott Gottlieb encouraging the agency to crack down on plant-based imitators that are harming the dairy industry by falsely labeling their products as milk.

Joyce and Brindisi then acted to incentivize children to drink more milk by cosponsoring H.R. 832, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2019. The measure allows for whole milk (both unflavored and flavored) to be offered in public schools.

"Since coming to Congress, I've worked to form relationships on both sides of the aisle and find common ground," said Congressman Brindisi. "Dairy farmers in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania face many of the same challenges, so it makes sense to partner with Congressman Joyce on these issues. I look forward to continuing to work together to deliver results for our constituents."

Joyce added, "The partnership I have formed with Congressman Brindisi on dairy issues is a great example of how new leadership in Washington can drive commonsense change. While we may sit on opposite sides of the aisle, our constituents have similar needs. Continuing to work with Congressman Brindisi on innovative solutions to revive the dairy industry in Pennsylvania's 13th District will be a priority for me going forward."

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