Farmers use up to 40,000 temporary workers each year to pick crops in Washington. And they say they can't afford to pay for housing that's used for as little as 10 days a year. Everyone agrees housing needs to be built. A committee examining the housing issue, in its second meeting Monday in Pasco, agreed the state and counties should pick up at least part of the tab. The state has to participate.
Public funding is necessary.
Benton County Commissioner Max Benitz agreed. We need some help from the state. That's the key. Not only that, but the money also must come from a guaranteed source, not the general fund, which can be turned off and on by the Legislature every year, said Rogelio Riojas, director of community health centers in Seattle. There was no estimate of what a migrant housing plan would cost.