December 2022 - 31

AG LABOR REVIEW
For ag employers, this lame duck session is key
MICHAEL MARSH
President & CEO
National Council of
Agricultural Employers
Michael@ncaeonline.org
the Senate, the legislation will move to the
president for his signature.
This time of year is good for reflection.
Darkness lingers into the morning and
comes again in the late afternoon. Leaves
on the trees have already changed color
and now litter the ground waiting to be
scattered by the wind. Temperatures cool
and frost covers windshields of cars first
thing each day.
It's not yet winter but you can feel it
coming.
In Washington, D.C., elections are
over, and the Congress has returned. This
is referred to as the " lame duck " session.
Merriam Webster defines a lame duck as
" an elected official or group continuing
to hold political office during the period
between the election and the inauguration
of a successor. " For ag employers, this lame
duck session is very important.
So much to get done in a very short
period.
As of this writing, the Senate is
waiting for the introduction of the Farm
Workforce Modernization Act.
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet
(D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
have been working together to develop
language for the legislation, with language
that will hopefully be more employer
friendly than the measure put together
in the House. The House version passed,
again, in March 2021.
So much to get done in a very short
period.
Following introduction, the Bennet/
Crapo bill will be assigned to the committee
of jurisdiction over immigration issues in
the Senate Chamber. This means the bill
will be assigned to the Judiciary Committee
which is chaired by Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Sen. Durbin will need to schedule
committee time to hear the bill and debate
any amendments to the language.
Once the bill passes out of committee,
hopefully with bipartisan support, it will
move to the Senate floor. Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer will then need to carve
out time for debate of the bill, while also
making sure that other priorities (like
keeping the government funded) are
similarly scheduled for time.
Once the bill passes off the Senate
floor with at least 60 votes reflecting the
bipartisan nature of the legislation, it will
need to move to a Conference Committee
with the House of Representatives.
The Conference Committee
(including Democrats and Republicans
from both Chambers) will then convene
to iron out differences between the
two versions of the bill. Once they are
successful in that effort, the conference
bill will return to both the House and
Senate Floors for debate and passage.
Upon passage in both chambers with a
majority vote in the House and 60 votes in
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VGN | DECEMBER 2022 | 31
CUSTOM BUILT
HARVESTERS
So much to get done in a very short period.
As I mentioned, this time of year is good
for reflection. Agricultural employers will
push aggressively to get legislation passed. This
will not be an easy lift to navigate all of the
complexities and hurdles that remain in our way.
But we will work hard to achieve positive change
for the people who are relying on us.
It's not just agricultural employers who are
relying on us. It's the American people too.
It is that important! VGN

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December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2022