[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 172 (Sunday, November 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL LABOR REFORM ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 21, 2003

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Temporary 
Agricultural Labor Reform Act of 2003, a bi-partisan bill to reform the 
H-2A guest worker program. As Chairman of the House Agriculture 
Committee, I have traveled across the Nation and seen first-hand that 
the H-2A temporary visa process is not working. I have talked face to 
face with producers who have to deal with participating in a costly, 
time-consuming and flawed program. Employers have to comply with a 
lengthy labor certification process that is slow, bureaucratic and 
frustrating. In addition, they are forced to pay an artificially 
inflated wage rate. My bill will streamline the labor certification 
process while also creating a wage standard that is more fair and 
realistic.
  Likewise, as a long-time Member of the House Judiciary Committee, I 
understand the immigration problems that currently face our country. 
Illegal immigration penalizes those legal immigrants and citizens who 
play by the rules. It is estimated that there are between 8 and 11 
million illegal aliens currently living in the United States. This 
population grows by over 350,000 each year. Clearly, this situation has 
reached crisis proportions and cannot be allowed to continue.
  Some believe that the only way to reform the guest worker program is 
by including amnesty provisions and allowing illegal aliens to adjust 
to Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status. However, this would create 
the wrong incentive by encouraging foreign nationals to come into the 
country illegally in the hopes that they, too, will be rewarded for 
their illegal actions. Amnesty is not the answer to our Nation's 
illegal immigration problem.
  My bill would not grant blanket amnesty. Instead, it would allow the 
large population of illegal farm workers one chance to come out of 
hiding and participate legally in the guest worker program. Potential 
workers would be required to return to their home countries and apply 
for the program legally from there.
  In addition, this legislation would address a troublesome wage issue. 
Employers are required to pay an inflated wage called the Adverse 
Effect Wage Rate or AEWR. The AEWR was designed to protect similarly 
situated domestic workers from being adversely affected by guest 
workers coming into the country on a seasonal basis and being paid 
lower wages. However, the shortage of domestic workers in the farm 
workforce forces employers to hire foreign workers, and thus, is also 
forcing them to pay an inflated wage. My bill abolishes this unfair 
wage and creates a prevailing wage standard, under which, all workers 
are paid the same wage as workers doing similar work in that region.
  The facts are simple. Agriculture needs a reliable guest worker 
program. Workers need access to stable, legal, temporary employment. It 
is in our national security interest to create a sensible way for 
workers to come in on a temporary basis, work, and go back to their 
home countries. My bill addresses the problems in the current guest 
worker program, and I look forward to working with all of the Members 
in this body to reform this program and make it a more viable process 
for everyone involved.

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