Congressman Panetta Pushes House Leadership to Fund Programs that Improve Housing and Health Conditions for Farmworkers in Next COVID-19 Relief Package

WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, September 25 Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) sent a letter to House leadership requesting a $1 million investment in the Department of Labor (DOL) Farmworker Housing Program to improve housing conditions for farmworkers in Congress’s next COVID-19 relief package. Recent reports detail that farmworkers in California are more prone to contracting COVID-19. The high prevalence of the disease has been intensified by crowded living conditions within farmworker households. “COVID-19 continues to severely impact the health and housing issues of farmworkers on the Central Coast. I’m constantly reminding many of my congressional colleagues that farmworkers are not just invaluable when it comes to our agricultural productivity, but also some are very vulnerable to COVID-19 due to their living conditions,” said Congressman Panetta. "That’s why I’m consistently pushing House leadership to take those issues into account and fund farmworker housing programs in the next pandemic relief package. Such funding would provide more resources for outreach, information, and housing assistance to farmworkers so that they can stay healthy, safe, and continue to play an essential role in our nation’s food security.” “There is just one federal program providing outreach and technical assistance to farmworkers, the Department of Labor (DOL) Farmworker Housing Program, and it is sorely underfunded. In California alone, which is home to 21.83% of the farmworker population, grant funding to the state’s organizations last month fell by over 40 percent. These housing conditions and a lack of federal resources put farmworkers at grave risk for contracting COVID-19 and risks jeopardizing our country’s food supply. We appreciate the leadership of Rep. Panetta and the support of his House colleagues in fighting for this important program. ” said Bob Rapoza, Executive Secretary of the National Rural Housing Coalition. The DOL Farmworker Housing Program is extremely underfunded. According to the 2016 Legal Services Corporation Agricultural Worker Population Estimate, there are 633,978 agricultural workers in California, representing 21.83% of the nationwide farmworker population and 32.5% of the nation’s farmworkers living in poverty. Despite this tremendous need, funding to farmworker organizations based in California fell from $1.34 million in the previous four-year cycle to $859,000 in grants made last month; a reduction of over 40%.