their ranks and get things done? The people of California sent me to Washington to get things done. Most major pieces of legislation are accomplished on a bipartisan basis. So, unless one party is able to have control of the White House, House of Representative and 60 seats in the Senate, the only way for government to be effective for the people is to put partisanship aside and get things done. We would not have been able to pass a Drought Relief Bill, the 2013 Immigration Compromise, or even publish the Torture Report without cooperation from both Republicans and Democrats and I hope this election will prove that there is still a viable path for those of us who are committed to rolling up their sleeves and finding solutions to the problems facing our country. Assuming you are successful in your reelection bid, what do you hope to accomplish during your next term in office? When do you expect to get real immigration reform for agriculture done? One of my top priorities for the next Congress is expanding access to health care for millions of Americans by lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare to 55-years of age, mandating that Medicare negotiates for drug prices (which it currently does not), allowing the US Department of Health and Human Services to reject unreasonable premium increases and requiring 85 percent of all premium dollars to go to patients, instead of 80 percent.
I am also dedicated to helping reduce homelessness, which has become a crisis here in California and across the West Coast. And as the agriculture community knows all too well the issue of immigration reform has real impactions for farms throughout California, with some 500,000 undocumented farmworkers in our state. Which is why I have partnered with the United Farm Workers to introduce the “Agricultural Worker Program Act” which would allow farmworkers to earn a “blue card” shielding them from deportation and eventually a green card which would put these handworkers on a pathway to citizenship. What is your key message to California agriculture in the 2018 election? What one thought would you like to leave our members with regarding your reelection campaign for the U.S. Senate? With my experience working with the agriculture community, I understand the challenges facing farmers and farmworkers in our state. For as long as I have been in the Senate I have made it my mission to support the agricultural community through farm bills, drought bills, immigration reform bills and by showing up and listening to leaders in your community. I am very proud of the strong working relationship I have built up with California’s agriculture community and I am committed to continuing that relationship in my next term.
Tom Nassif, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Sammy Duda
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SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2018
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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