NEWS: Congressman Greg Casar Outlines What a Pro-Worker Farm Bill Could Look Like

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas), who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, outlined what an actual pro-worker Farm Bill would look like during the bill markup: 

Remarks as Delivered:

“Today, we're discussing a Republican Farm Bill proposal that, in my view, not only fails small farmers and ranchers, but fails American workers. 

“In fact, in today's 954-page draft bill, the word “worker” is only mentioned six times. And in none of those instances are they talking about the rights or well-being of the people who harvest, process, or pack our food for far too little pay. In stark contrast, the word “corporation” appears at least 99 times. And it's because it's largely those corporations who will reap the benefits of this partisan Farm Bill. 

“My distinguished colleagues on the other side of the aisle have mentioned overpayment when they are talking about food stamps and SNAP benefits, when really we should be asking about overpayment to many of these corporate CEOs. When folks have been talking about waste, fraud or abuse and are talking about people who are just trying to get by and on food stamps, I would actually point to the waste, fraud, and abuse of corporate America, who are overwhelmingly starting to dominate our food systems and jacking up prices on consumers while underpaying their workers. 

“Just take a look at the beef market where we have four packing companies that now control 85% of the market. Those same companies that have been caught with children working in dangerous facilities are constantly underpaying their workers and have used their market power to not only ignore those basic labor laws, but to jack up prices on consumers. 

“In my view, the Farm Bill is such an important opportunity to reduce the power of those corporate price gougers. But instead, this Republican bill before us rewards them. The people who work to pick tomatoes in the summer heat, or who process food at the plant, or make sure that that food gets to our grocery shelves — they're the ones who should be getting more help in this bill. But instead they are hurt by it, because the bill cuts $30 billion from the nutrition programs that help those working families put food on the table after a long day at work. 

“So who does this bill protect if it's not those workers? It is those big corporations, sometimes in very creative ways, that are getting more protection in this bill. Look no further than the provisions in here that provide liability shields for chemical corporations and their pesticides that make workers and consumers sick. It even throws a punch at the public servants that administer SNAP benefits, by pushing for more privatization of their public jobs and shipping those jobs out to more corporations. 

“I mean, come on, y'all. I came to this committee to vote for a pro-farmer, pro-rancher, and pro-worker Farm Bill, not for a corporate handout.”

###

Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.