[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 120 (Thursday, September 22, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL LABOR REFORM ACT OF 2005

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                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2005

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce, along with my 
friend and colleague Representative Marion Berry of Arkansas, the 
Temporary Agricultural Labor Reform Act of 2005, 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. For example, 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 cumbersome 
requirements of the current H-2A program to make it a more viable 
option for our nation's farmers.
  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 over 10 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 and break our laws. Amnesty is unfair to those foreign 
nationals trying to comply with our laws and encourages more people to 
come into the U.S. illegally with the thought that they, too, will get 
rewarded for their illegal actions in the future.
  My bill would not grant an amnesty. Instead, it would require that 
anyone wishing to participate in the guest worker program must first 
return to their home country and apply from there to participate 
legally. This requirement will help us track who is entering our 
country and will create an incentive for those currently present 
illegally to return home and begin the process again while respecting 
our immigration laws.
  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 problems in the guest worker program, 
and I look forward to working with Representative Berry and all of the 
Members of this body to reform this program and make it a more viable 
process for everyone involved.

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