Sánchez Opening Statement at Field Hearing in Minnesota
(As prepared for delivery)
Good morning, Members of the Committee and witnesses. Thank you for joining us in Kimball, Minnesota for today’s trade hearing on agriculture and critical supply chains.
Our farmers, miners, engineers, and scientists – here in Minnesota and across the country – evoke the possibilities, progress, and potential the American Dream can offer.
As a Member of this Committee, and as a Member of the Trade Subcommittee, I recognize the crucial role trade plays in providing livelihoods for American farmers and workers employed in the food industry.
Across the country, from California to Wisconsin, Iowa to South Dakota – the agriculture sector’s workforce has become largely dependent on migrant and seasonal workers.
Farmworkers often suffer poor working conditions and a complicated visa process.
I know this issue is not only a challenge for farmworkers, but also for their employers.
Over the past year, my office has met with farm groups advocating for reforms to our immigration laws to allow more farmers to work here legally and greater market access for their goods and services.
New market opportunities for American agriculture doesn’t just translate into economic gains for farmers and their families here – it also provides greater choices in global consumer goods and reduces food insecurity in our partner countries.
The bottom line is that our farmers do not just feed us, they help feed the world and their impact reaches beyond our shores.
To ensure our farmers and workers benefit from the trade agreements Congress has approved, the United States must make sure that our trading partners are living up to the commitments they’ve made in these agreements.
Committee Democrats played a critical role in the renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (the USMCA). As a result of our efforts, the trade agreement we have with two of our closest trading partners now includes enforceable provisions.
The Biden Administration has used the tools Congress granted to enforce the agreement so that our workers and farmers can compete on a level playing field.
In my home state of California, our farmers know what it means to play a critical role in feeding the nation. Farmers in California grow over 400 different crops – making the state the country’s largest producer AND exporter.
However, the sheer scale of production in the United States has also contributed to our current climate crisis. Despite the cutting-edge approaches farmers across the country are using – including here in Minnesota – the sector is responsible for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide.
In both the agriculture and critical minerals sectors, we face some of our greatest challenges to date. How do we enhance and increase sustainable environmental practices as we work to keep domestic production in both sectors strong? Scaling up supply to meet demand without ensuring companies meet environmental regulations and governments do their part to protect biodiversity could result in more environmental disasters.
These disasters even pose a great threat to critical mineral supplies themselves.
California is home to one of the largest untapped lithium reserves in the world, close to the Salton Sea. Experts have likened it to another gold rush – as these reserves could power nearly 100,000 homes.
This critical mineral is also essential for making EV batteries. Last year, House Democrats successfully prioritized domestic sourcing of critical minerals like lithium for EV batteries in the Inflation Reduction Act. That’s why companies are vying to extract and begin commercial production in the Salton Sea.
Their intent is to show they can pull lithium out of 600-degree brine in a way that’s more environmentally friendly than any other country leading lithium production today.
While the technology is unproven so far, I am hopeful that this carbon-free, geothermal energy which avoids current environmentally degrading mining techniques will push the industry into the 21st century.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today to learn more about how Congress and this Committee can continue to make our supply chains more resilient and support these key industries and the workers in them. Thank you.