Canton, NY, Jun 17, 2013 — Dairy farmers - and their workers - have a lot at stake in the immigration debate underway in Washington.

A survey by Cornell University found that 2,600 Spanish-speaking people work on New York dairy farms. Of them, two thirds or more are here illegally. That's in part because there's no visa program for the kind of year-round workers dairy farms need.

The Senate's reform plan offers dairy farms new options for a legal supply of immigrant labor.

Undocumented Latino workers are scattered on bunches of dairy farms in the North Country. David Sommerstein spoke with some of them to see what they think of immigration reform.  Go to full article

Jun 12, 2013 — This week the Senate passed a five-year, nearly $500 billion farm bill. About three-quarters of that pays for the food stamp program, which would be cut by $400 million a year. Direct farm subsidies are largely replaced by subsidies for crop insurance. And there are a barrelfull of other items from land conservation to support for young farmers.

This is pretty much where things stood a year ago. But House Speaker John Boehner refused to let his chamber's version of the farm bill come to the floor for a vote. Conservative Republicans believed the bill contained too much government spending.  Go to full article

Apr 26, 2013 — North Country congressman Bill Owens says he's returning roughly $75,000 of his congressional office budget to the US treasury.

Owens has made the gesture toward austerity four years in a row -- with the amount left unspent by his office now totaling around $400,000.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Mar 25, 2013 — Washington failed to pass a Farm Bill last year. Congressman Bill Owens says he's "cautiously optimistic" one will pass this year. But he's not sure exactly what will be in the massive $100 billion a year legislation that funds everything from farm programs to food stamps.

So the North Country Democrat is introducing three bills early that would help New York farmers.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Mar 20, 2013 — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is making the case that New York's proposed minimum wage increase to $9 an hour is actually not enough. She is co-sponsoring a bill to raise the minimum wage nationwide to $10.10 an hour.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, Mar 11, 2013 — The effects of across the board federal spending cuts - known as the sequester - are still being sorted out. Mohawks in Akwesasne are bracing for cuts to health care and law enforcement.  Go to full article

Jan 03, 2013 — A new Congress will be sworn in today in Washingon, D.C., and one of the first pieces of legislation the House plans to vote on tomorrow is aid for Superstorm Sandy victims. House Speaker John Boehner had scrapped the vote earlier this week, but lawmakers from states where the superstorm struck blasted him for his decision.

Tomorrow's vote covers only 15 percent of the rescue package. The rest is set for a vote on Jan. 15. In Albany, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lashed out at the Congress Wednesday for reneging on a promise to pass the Superstorm relief package late Tuesday night.  Go to full article

Jan 02, 2013 — North Country congressman Bill Owens, a Democrat from Plattsburgh, voted in favor of a zero-hour spending bill late last night that averted the so-called "fiscal cliff".

Owens was joined by Republicans Chris Gibson and Richard Hanna, who also currently represent parts of the North Country.

They helped lift the measure past opposition from conservative Republicans. The bill passed on a vote of 257 to 167.

The controversial bipartisan deal came just in time to spare the country broad tax hikes and deep cuts to Federal spending, which Owens called "dangerous."  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Jan 02, 2013 — Tucked into the fiscal package passed by Congress last night is a nine-month extension of the farm bill. The massive five-year farm bill expired last fall when the House wouldn't vote on a new version passed by the Senate.

This extension includes a safety net for dairy farmers. But it axes many popular programs.  Go to full article

Dec 04, 2012 — One big item caught up in gridlock created by the current budget debate, with its "fiscal cliff" threat, is the federal farm bill.

Most farmers are still covered by crop insurance and other programs until next planting season, but that's not true of dairy.

Dairy farmers now have no safety net if milk prices fall. And with feed prices soaring, many feel they're falling off a cliff of their own.  Go to full article