[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11414-S11419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Labor Shortage
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, the Senator from California, Senator
Feinstein, will be here in a few moments to join me in what we believe
is an important message, to continue to speak not only to our
colleagues here in the Senate but to America as a whole. It is a speech
not unlike the one we gave before we recessed for the break before the
election, when it was becoming increasingly obvious that America was
finding itself in a major labor shortage, primarily in agriculture and
some of the service industries. In fact, while I was home during this
recess period of time, the shortage of orange juice in the U.S. market
made national news as the price went up substantially.
A shortage of orange juice today in the American market is because
nearly a million cases of oranges rotted on the trees of Florida this
fall, late summer, because there were not hands to pick them, put them
in the crates, and move them to the processing sheds. That became
painfully obvious across America as the harvest season went on,
especially in those areas that require concentrated hand labor, whether
it was Florida, California, and the great San Joaquin Valley of
California, whether it was my State of Idaho that began to see labor
shortages in a variety of areas, whether it was Washington or Oregon,
where many of the fresh fruits and vegetable crops simply did not get
picked and apples rotted on the trees, whether it was in Kentucky,
Illinois, Colorado or Michigan, it became so obvious this Congress, in
its effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform, simply failed to
do so. America grew angry about it, grew angry about the number of
illegals in our country and the fact this Congress did little or
nothing about it.
A great deal is going on. One of the reasons the labor shortages
began to appear is because this Congress insisted, and the
administration agreed, we put money behind the securing and the closing
of our southwest border where literally a million-plus people were
moving across annually into our labor market.
We viewed that as untenable and irresponsible for a great nation to
fail to control and secure its borders. We are doing that now. We are
continuing to invest and will continue to invest in a secured border
environment. But in doing that, and failing to couple with a more
secure border a comprehensive immigration reform package that allows a
real, honest, legal, fair guest worker program, American agriculture
now hurts as they have never hurt before.
On December 4, all of my colleagues received a letter that in itself
was almost unprecedented, a letter from over 400 agricultural groups
around the country--not just agricultural groups but nursery groups,
warehouse groups, storage groups, all of them generally agriculture
related.
I ask unanimous consent to have that printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
December 4, 2006.
Hon. Larry Craig,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Craig: The organizations on the attached list
urge you to support passage of a comprehensive agricultural
worker program this year!
You've read the headlines. Food grown for American tables
has rotted in American fields this year. The cause? In this
case it's not the weather. It's something the Congress can
address--labor. We need agricultural worker reform before the
end of the 109th Congress.
The facts are clear: on many American farms, immigrant
labor plants, tends and picks the fruits, vegetables, and
other crops. Immigrant workers tend the livestock--feeding
the chickens, turkeys, horses, sheep, hogs and cattle and
milking the cows. Immigrant workers also produce, install,
and maintain the plants that make our homes, towns, and
cities livable.
The current agricultural temporary worker program--known as
H2A is flawed and needs reform. There is no area of the
country
[[Page S11415]]
where H2A workers make up more than 10 percent of the
necessary farm workforce. In most areas, it's far less than
that. Nationally, only two percent of farm workers are
provided by the unresponsive and litigation-plagued H2A
program. American agriculture needs a reformed H2A program
that is timely, effective and streamlined, and a transition
approach that allows for retaining the experienced workforce
while capacity is built on the farm and at the border to
support wider use of a program like reformed H2A.
Language that seeks to address the challenges specific to
agriculture was included in the bill passed with a bipartisan
majority in the Senate. Many House members of both parties
have acknowledged the need to address immigration reform for
agriculture. Polls show the American people overwhelmingly
favor a common-sense approach to immigration reform including
sensible foreign worker programs and earned legal status
subject to strict conditions for workers currently in the
country.
Another fact we must point out, at this late date in the
year, is that agriculture issues are rarely partisan issues.
While they are sometimes regional, in this case every area of
the country is affected by agricultural labor shortages and
support for a common-sense solution comes from every region
of the country as well.
Reports in the media have told the story this harvest
season: not enough workers to pick the apples in New York and
Washington or the cherries in Oregon and Michigan or the
oranges in Florida. One major daily newspaper showed on its
front page a massive pile of pears on the ground in
California--rejected by the packing house because they were
picked too late due to labor shortage. Worker shortages have
been reported from coast to coast, from border to border.
It is time for the Congress to act. After a decade of
debate and with worker shortages now a reality, American
agriculture needs your help.
The sheer number and geographic representation of the
organizations on the attached list show the widespread and
urgent need for solving this problem. We urge you to support
enactment of a comprehensive agricultural worker program,
this year!
Sincerely,
Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform; Agri-Mark,
Inc.; Agri-Placement Services, Inc.; American Agri-
Women; American Farm Bureau Federation; American
Farmland Trust; American Frozen Food Institute;
American Horse Council; American Mushroom Institute;
American Nursery & Landscape Association; American
Sheep Industry Association (ASI); The Council of
Northeast Farmer Cooperatives; Dairylea Cooperative
Inc.; Dairy Farmers of America; Farwest Equipment
Dealers Association; Federation of Employers and
Workers of America; Irrigation Association; Landscape
Contractors Association; National Association of State
Departments of Agriculture; National Christmas Tree
Association.
National Council of Agricultural Employers; National
Council of Farmer Cooperatives; National Greenhouse
Manufacturers Association; National Milk Producers
Federation; National Potato Council; National
Watermelon Association; New England Apple Council;
NISEI Farmers League; North American Bramble Growers
Association; North American Horticultural Supply
Association; Northeast Dairy Producers Association;
Northeast Farm Credit Associations; Northern Plains
Potato Growers Association; Northwest Farm Credit
Services; Northwest Horticultural Council; Nursery &
Landscape Association Executives of North America;
OFA--An Association of Floriculture Professionals;
Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association; Perennial
Plant Association; Produce Marketing Association.
Society of American Florists; South East Dairy Farmers
Association; Southern Christmas Tree Association;
Southern Nursery Association (AL, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA,
MD, MI, MO, OK, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV); Turfgrass
Producers International; United Agribusiness League;
United Egg Producers; United Fresh Produce Association;
U.S. Apple Association; Western Growers; Western Plant
Health Association; Western United Dairymen; Wholesale
Nursery Growers of America; WineAmerica; Wine
Institute; Alabama Nursery & Landscape Association;
Alabama Watermelon Association; Arizona Nursery
Association; Pasquinelli Produce Co., Yuma, AZ;
Arkansas Green Industry Association.
Allied Grape Growers (CA); Brand Flowers Inc, Wilja
Happe, Owner (CA); California-Arizona Watermelon
Association; California Association; of Nurseries and
Garden Centers; California Association of Wheat
Growers; California Association of Winegrape Growers;
California Avocado Commission; California Bean Shippers
Association; California Canning Peach Association;
California Citrus Mutual; California Cotton Ginners &
Growers Associations; California Dairies, Inc.;
California Egg Industry Association; California Farm
Bureau Federation; California Fig Advisory Board;
California Floral Council; California Grain and Feed
Association; California Grape and Tree Fruit League;
California League of Food Processors; California Pear
Growers Association.
California Seed Association; California State Floral
Association; California Strawberry Nurserymen's
Association; California Warehouse Association;
California Women for Agriculture; Carol and Bill
Chandler, Chandler Farms, LP (CA); Colab Imperial
County (CA); Family Winemakers of California; Fresno
County Farm Bureau (CA); Grower-Shipper Association of
Central California; Imperial County Farm Bureau (CA);
Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (CA);
Kern County Farm Bureau (CA); Kings County Farm Bureau
(CA); Lake County Farm Bureau (CA); Lassen County
Nursery (CA); Madera County Farm Bureau (CA); Merced
County Farm Bureau (CA); Monterey County Farm Bureau
(CA); Napa County Farm Bureau (CA).
Olive Grower Council of California; Orange County Farm
Bureau (CA); Pacific Coast Producers; Pacific Egg and
Poultry Association (CA); Raisin Bargaining Association
(CA); San Diego County Farm Bureau (CA); San Diego
County Flower & Plant Association; San Joaquin County
Farm Bureau (CA); Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau
(CA); Santa Clara County Farm Bureau (CA); Stanislaus
County Farm Bureau (CA); Sun Maid Growers of
California; Tulare County Farm Bureau (CA); Ventura
County Agricultural Association (CA); Yolo County Farm
Bureau (CA); Duane Abe, Tree Fruit, Citrus, Vegetable
Grower (CA); Mitch Bagdasarian, Grape and Tree Fruit
Grower (CA); Anthony Balakian, Fruit Patch, Inc. (CA);
Stephen J. Barnard, Mission Produce, Inc. (CA);
Charanjit Batth, Raisin & Almond Grower (CA).
Doug Benik, Grape Grower (CA); Bobby Bianco, Anthony
Vineyards, Inc. (CA); Pete Binz, Raisin Grower (CA);
Stephen Biswell, Mt. Campbell Development (CA); Bill
Boos, Grape, Tree Fruit and Citrus Grower (CA);
Nicholas Bozick, R. Bagdasarian, Inc. (CA); Wayne
Brandt, Brandt Farms, Inc. (CA); Rod Burkett, Olive
Grower (CA); Tony Campos, Diversified Grower (CA);
Anton Caratan, Anton Caratan & Sons (CA); Chris
Caratan, M. Caratan, Inc. (CA); Blake Carlson, Tree
Fruit and Grape Grower (CA); Kirk Cerniglia, Royal
Madera Vineyards (CA); Bill Chandler, Grape & Almond
Grower (CA); Micheal Conroy, Conroy Farms, Inc. (CA);
Allan Corrin, Corrin Farming (CA); Stanley Cosart, W.F.
Cosart Packing Co. (CA); Verne Crookshanks, Venida
Packing, Inc. (CA); Anthony Cubre, Sr., Grape Grower
(CA); Frank Dalena, Poultry and Vegetable Grower (CA).
Jerry Dibuduo, Ballantine Produce Co., Inc. (CA); Maurice
Dibuduo, Grape Grower (CA); Nat Dibuduo, Jr., Allied
Grape Growers (CA); John Diepersloot, Tree Fruit Grower
(CA); Tony Domingos, Grape Grower (CA); Edge Dostal,
Chiquita Fresh North America (CA); Dan Dreyer, Olive
Grower (CA); Russel Efird, Diversified Grower (CA);
Richard Elliot, David J. Elliot & Sons (CA); Ken Enns,
Enns Packing Co., Inc. (CA); Dan Errotabere,
Diversified Grower (CA); Tony Fazio, Tri-Boro Fruit
Co., Inc. (CA); Steve Ficklin, Grape Grower (CA); Ron
Frauenheim, Frauenheim Farms (CA); George Fujihara,
Raisin Grower (CA); Fred Garza, Farm Labor Contractor
(CA); Micky George, George Bros., Inc. (CA); Dan
Gerawan, Gerawan Farming, Inc. (CA); Randy Giumarra,
Guimarra Vineyards Corporation (CA); Jim Hamilton, Nut
Grower and Processor (CA).
John Harris, Feed Lot, Diversified Farming (CA); Mak
Hase, Tree Fruit Grower (CA); Steve Hash, Steve Hash
Farms (CA); Doug Hemly, Greene and Hemly, Inc. (CA);
Phil Herbig, Enns Packing Co., Inc. (CA); Leland
Herman, Raisin Grower (CA); Phil Herman, Grape Grower
(CA); David Hoff, Raisin Grower (CA); Allen Huebert,
Grape and Tree Fruit Grower (CA); Tim Huebert, Tree
Fruit Grower (CA); Robert Ikemiya, Ito Packing Company,
Inc. (CA); Daniel Jackson, Tree Fruit Grower and Packer
(CA); David Jackson, David Jackson Farms (CA); George
Jackson, Tree Fruit Grower (CA); Mike Jensen, Grape,
Tree Fruit Grower and Packer (CA); David Johnson,
Citrus Grower (CA); Steve Johnson, Johnson Orchards,
Inc. (CA); Brian Jones, Sun Valley Packing (CA); Herb
Kaprielian, KCC Holding LLC (CA); Alan Kasparian, Grape
Grower (CA).
Aubrey Cairns, Kaweah Lemon Company (CA); Pat Kurihara,
Citrus, Tree Fruit and Grape Grower (CA); Paul
Lanfranco, Grape & Tree Fruit Grower (CA); Ben Letizia,
Grape and Tree Fruit Grower (CA); Jim Lloyd-Butler,
James Lloyd-Butler Family Partnership (CA); Jerry
Logoluso, Grape Grower (CA); Dave Loquaci, Grape Grower
(CA); Ronald Lund, Raisin Grower (CA); Fred Machado,
Dairy Farmer (CA); David Marguleas, Sun World
[[Page S11416]]
International, LLC (CA); Harold McClarty, Tree Fruit
Grower and Packer (CA); Mark Melkonian, Tree Fruit and
Dehydrator (CA); Richard Milton, Tree Fruit Grower
(CA); Keith Nilmeier, Tree Fruit Grower (CA); James
Oliver, Grape and Tree Fruit Grower (CA); Louis Pandol,
Pandol Bros., Inc. (CA); Dennis Parnagian, Fowler
Packing Company, Inc. (CA); Justin Parnagian, Fowler
Packing Company, Inc. (CA); Ron Peters, Tree Fruit
Grower (CA); Scott Peters, Tree Fruit, Citrus and Grape
Grower (CA).
Jerald Rebensdorf, Fresno Cooperative Raisin, Inc. (CA);
Bob Reimer, Tree Fruit and Grape Grower (CA); Pat
Ricchwti, Jr., Almond, Tree Fruit & Grape Grower and
Packer (CA); Cliff Rolland, Abe-el Produce (CA); Cliff
Sadoian, Sadoian Bros., Inc. (CA); Bobby Sano, Grape,
Tree Fruit and Nut Grower (CA); Sark Sarabian, Sarabian
Farms (CA); Tom Sasselli, Grape Grower (CA); Tom
Schultz, Chase National Kiwi Farms (CA); Mike Scott,
Raisin Grower (CA); Andrew J. Scully, Philip E. Scully,
Toni M. Scully, Pear & Packing (CA); Don Serimian, Tree
Fruit & Grape Grower and Packer (CA); Jim Simonian,
Simonian Fruit Company (CA); Dave Smith, Olive Grower
(CA); Brent Smittcamp, Wawona Packing Co., LLC. (CA);
Kent Stephens, Marko Zaninovich, Inc. (CA); Ty Tavlan,
Tree Fruit Grower and Packer (CA); Dean Thonesen,
Sunwest Fruit Company, Inc. (CA); Bill Tos, Tree Fruit
Grower & Walnut and Packer (CA); Stan Tufts, Tufts
Ranch LLC (CA).
Steve Volpe, Table Grape Grower and Packer (CA); Eric
Ward, Tree Fruit and Nut Grower (CA); Chiles Wilson,
All State Packers, Inc. (CA); John D. Zaninovich, Zan
Farms, Inc. (CA); Jon P. Zaninovich, Jasmine Vineyards,
Inc. (CA); Marko S. Zaninovich, Marko Zaninovich, Inc.
(CA); Ryan Zaninovich, V. B. Zaninovich & Sons, Inc.
(CA); Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado;
Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association; Colorado
Potato Administrative Committee; Colorado Sugar Beet
Growers Association; Colorado Wine Industry Development
Board; Bishops Orchards (CT); H. F. Brown Inc. (CT);
Connecticut Nursery & Landscape Association; A. Duda &
Sons (FL); Florida Citrus Mutual; Florida Citrus
Packers; Florida Farm Bureau Federation; Florida Fruit
& Vegetable Association.
Florida Grape Growers Association; Florida Nursery,
Growers & Landscape Association; Florida Watermelon
Association; Gulf Citrus Growers Association (FL);
Tampa Bay Wholesale Growers (FL); Georgia Green
Industry Association; Georgia Milk Producers; Georgia
Watermelon Association; Winegrowers Association of
Georgia; Environmental Care Association of Idaho; Idaho
Apple Commission; Idaho Cherry Commission; Idaho Grower
Shippers Association; Idaho Nursery & Landscape
Association; Idaho-Oregon Fruit and Vegetable
Association; Potato Growers of Idaho; Illinois Grape
Growers and Vintners Association; Illinois Landscape
Contractors Association; Illinois Nurserymen's
Association; Illinois Specialty Growers Association.
Indiana-Illinois Watermelon Association; Indiana Nursery
and Landscape Association; Iowa Nursery & Landscape
Association; Farm Credit of Maine; Maine Potato Board;
Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association; Maryland-
Delaware Watermelon Association; Massachusetts Nursery
and Landscape Association, Inc.; Michigan Apple
Committee; Michigan Christmas Tree Association;
Michigan Farm Bureau Federation; Michigan Green
Industry Association; Michigan Horticultural Society;
Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association; Michigan
Vegetable Council; WineMichigan; Minnesota Nursery &
Landscape Association; Mississippi Nursery and
Landscape Association; Missouri-Arkansas Watermelon
Association; Montana Nursery & Landscape Association.
Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association; New Hampshire
Farm Bureau; New Jersey Nursery & Landscape
Association; Overdevest Nurseries (NJ); Agricultural
Affiliates (NY); Cayuga Marketing (NY); Farm Credit of
Western New York; First Pioneer Farm Credit (NY); New
York Agriculture Affiliates; New York Apple
Association; New York Farm Bureau; New York
Horticulture Society; New York State Nursery &
Landscape Association; New York State Vegetable Growers
Association; PRO-FAC Cooperative, Inc. (NY); Torrey
Farms Inc., NY; Upstate Farms Cooperative Inc. (NY);
Yankee Farm Credit (NY); Addis Cates Company (NC);
North Carolina Christmas Tree Association.
North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers' Association;
North Carolina Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
Association; North Carolina Farm Bureau; North Carolina
Green Industry Council; North Carolina Muscadine Grape
Association; North Carolina Nursery & Landscape
Association; North Carolina Potato Association; North
Carolina Strawberry Association; North Carolina
Vegetable Growers Association; North Carolina
Watermelon Association; North Carolina Wine & Grape
Council; North Dakota Nursery and Greenhouse
Association; Ohio Farm Bureau Federation; Ohio Nursery
and Landscape Association; Oklahoma Greenhouse Growers
Association; Oklahoma Nursery & Landscape Association;
Hood River Grower-Shipper Association (OR); Oregon
Association of Nurseries; Oregon Wine Board; Wasco
County Fruit & Produce League (OR).
Hollabaugh Bros., Inc. (PA); Pennsylvania Landscape &
Nursery Association; State Horticultural Association of
Pennsylvania; Rhode Island Nursery & Landscape
Association; South Carolina Greenhouse Growers
Association; South Carolina Nursery & Landscape
Association; South Carolina Watermelon Association;
South Dakota Nursery and Landscape Association;
Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc.; Lone
Star Milk Producers (TX); Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.
(TX); Select Milk Producers (TX); South Texas Cotton
and Grain Association; Texas Agricultural Cooperative
Council; Texas Agri-Women; Texas Association of
Dairymen; Texas Cattle Feeders Association; Texas
Citrus Mutual; Texas Cotton Ginners Association; Texas
Grain Sorghum Producers Assocation.
Texas Nursery & Landscape Association; Texas Poultry
Federation and Affiliates; Texas Produce Association;
Texas Produce Export Association; Texas-Oklahoma
Watermelon Association; Texas Turfgrass Producers
Association; Texas Vegetable Association; Western
Peanut Growers (TX); Winter Garden Produce (TX); Utah
Nursery & Landscape Association; St. Albans Cooperative
Creamery (VT); Vermont Association of Professional
Horticulturists (VAPH); Virginia Apple Growers
Association; Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association;
Virginia Green Industry Council; Virginia Christmas
Tree Growers Association; Northern Virginia Nursery &
Landscape Association; Southwest Virginia Nursery &
Landscape Association; Independent Food Processors
Company (WA); Mt. Adams Orchards Corporation (WA).
Underwood Fruit & Warehouse Company (WA); Washington
Association of Wine Grape Growers; Washington Bulb Co.;
Washington Growers Clearinghouse; Washington Growers
League; Washington State Farm Bureau; Washington State
Nursery & Landscape Association; Washington State
Potato Commission; Washington Wine Commission;
Commercial Flower Growers of Wisconsin; Gardens
Beautiful Garden Centers; Hartung Brothers Inc. (WI);
Lawns of Wisconsin Network; Wisconsin Christmas Tree
Growers Association; Wisconsin Landscape Contractors
Association; Wisconsin Nursery Association; Wisconsin
Sod Producers Association.
Mr. CRAIG. What did they say? They said it very clearly: a failure to
reform the H-2A program has put American agriculture in an untenable
position. As we bring in the numbers this winter to do the harvest this
summer and fall, it is reasonable to predict the loss that the American
consumers are now hearing about in bits and pieces through the national
news could well be equivalent to $4 billion to $5 billion of actual
value lost at the farm gate--meaning the produce did not leave the
farm, it did not make it to the processor, it will never make it to the
consumer's shelf, and American consumers will grow increasingly
dependent upon foreign sources for their food supply. For a great
nation like ours, that is not only dangerous, it is foolish and
irresponsible.
As we put American agriculture through this difficult time by our
failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform, something else is
going on out there on the farm. Diesel costs, fertilizer costs,
equipment costs are at an all-time high. Of course, we know the general
energy costs have increased at an unprecedented rate this year. Not
only do we have the impact of high input costs in the production of
American agriculture and agricultural foodstuffs, now there is nobody
to pick the crop.
I was in the upper San Joaquin Valley late summer meeting with a
group of agricultural people. One farmer said it as clearly as it could
ever be said. He said: Senator Craig, if you can't bring the workers to
me or if you can't make the workers available in the valley, I will
have to go where the workers are.
What did he mean by that? He meant he was leasing land in Argentina
or Mexico or Brazil where the labor force is today.
What will happen to the land in the great San Joaquin Valley? It will
go
[[Page S11417]]
fallow, or it will be put in homes. It will no longer be profitable to
produce in that greatest agricultural valley in the world which
produces the vegetable crops and all of the other kinds of crops the
American consumer so readily needs, knows, and wants.
Last year, for the first time, by a near majority of months, America
was consuming more from foreign import than they were consuming from
their own production. That is something that should never happen in the
greatest agricultural Nation in the world.
I think Americans get it. There was a very loud group who distorted
the whole debate. But they also taught us something important, that
Government had fumbled and Congress had failed in its responsible
approach to a comprehensive, enforceable, immigration law. We ignored
it for decades. In ignoring it, great problems had occurred. Not only
did we have an unprecedented number of undocumented illegal foreign
nationals in our country, but we had allowed industries such as
agriculture to grow increasingly dependent on an illegal workforce.
Agriculture came to me in the late 1990s and said: Senator Craig,
this problem has to get fixed.
We began to work on it then. Last year, the Senate passed a
comprehensive bill with AgJOBS, the bill I had worked on with American
agriculture and the coalition of over 400 agricultural groups. That was
in the bill. But when the House failed to act and would not act, when
we recognized that we had to gain confidence with the American people
that we knew what we were doing and we would do it right, we
increasingly began to put pressure on the border, to secure it, to make
it a real border, to recognize that to cross it you had to be legal,
you had to have the right papers and credentials. That is going on as
we speak.
I was one who encouraged our President to maximize the use of our
National Guard to help the Border Patrol to focus on those concentrated
areas where greater movement of illegals coming across our border was
occuring.
It is an issue of security; it is not just people wanting to cross
the border to work. Last year, over 200,000 were apprehended who were
non-Mexican. They were from all over the world. Many of them,
tragically enough, were drug traffickers and illegals trying to get
into our country for illegal purposes--not just a hard day's work in
the hot sun of an agricultural field. Border security is critical.
I hope this Congress will do now what it must do, what it has to do
for the American economy, for the American agricultural industries, and
that is pass a responsible, comprehensive reform of the H-2A program.
Yes, we need to deal with the illegals who are currently in the
country, but we also need to create a legal, identifiable flow of
people who come to work and then go home. Ninety-plus percent who work
here want to do just that: they want to go back from where they came.
That is where their families are in large part. That is where the
American dollar improves their lifestyle, back in their hometowns,
predominantly in Mexico but in other parts of the world as well.
If we fail to pass comprehensive reform this year, American
agriculture will go through another devastating year in the field, and
real management choices will be made, management choices no longer to
plant and grow in the United States, no longer to put fresh vegetable
crops in the field in December to be harvested in February to supply
our great and abundant markets and the needs of our consumers.
This is a very real issue today and a very real problem. That is why
on December 4 this coalition sent to this Congress an urgent message, a
plea. It said: Please listen to us. Support and pass comprehensive
agricultural worker reform. Give us an H-2A program that works. That is
what we must accomplish because even in all of our debates this is not
going to happen overnight. We won't get to this for several months, and
when we do, it will take time working with the House. Then it will
pass. Then it has to be implemented.
So American agriculture will go through another very tough cropping
season and billions of dollars will be lost. Wise business men and
women will have to make decisions of whether they continue to farm in
this country and produce in this country or if they go elsewhere to
produce, and instead of being domestic producers, they become foreign
importers. That is something that should never be allowed to happen.
My colleague from California has joined me. Senator Feinstein and I
and others have worked closely to craft the right kind of bill that
works, that is legal, that is transparent, that recognizes the
importance of border security and border control to get this great
country back into the business of doing what it ought to do; that is,
to allow into our country those we want and to keep out those we don't
want.
We are a nation of immigrants. We are proud of that. Most all of us
came from somewhere else some time ago. It is because of this we are a
great nation. It is because of the ability to assimilate, to bring into
our culture foreign nationals to become Americans that has made our
country great.
In the last two decades, we failed to do that in a responsible
fashion. Now, because of that, American agriculture hurts, other
industries hurt. It is important we grow increasingly sensitive to
getting this job done and getting it right. The job itself is passing
AgJOBS, the comprehensive responsible bill to help American agriculture
create a legal workforce.
Under the unanimous consent the Senator from California, Mrs.
Feinstein, has the next 15 or 16 minutes.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. That is correct.
May I proceed, Mr. President?
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Graham). The Senator from California is
recognized.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Idaho. I also
indicate how much I agree with the Senator.
Before I proceed, I note that Senator Murray is in the Senate. I ask
unanimous consent she be given 10 minutes directly following my
remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, Senator Craig rightly stated that
management choices are being made right now. That, in fact, is true. We
are seeing billions of dollars of an agricultural industry effectively
being destroyed. Some of it is competition from abroad, but much of it
is the fact that growers and farmers have a 20-percent--it is
estimated--labor shortage to plant, to harvest, to prune. There is
tremendous uncertainty, I can tell you for a fact, in the largest State
in the Union, and the largest agricultural State. Farmers do not
believe they can get workers to harvest their crops, ergo they are not
planting these crops.
Senator Craig and I came to the Senate before. We have written a
joint letter to the leader. We have asked, please, because
comprehensive immigration reform tends to be stalled, at least pass
AgJOBS. An industry depends on it.
We have worked out AgJOBS. It has passed the Senate as part of the
immigration bill. Just take out the part that is AgJOBS and pass it. It
is a 5-year pilot. It involves the ability of the agricultural industry
of our country to get labor, both through H-2A reform, which is
contained, and through a 5-year pilot to try to secure a workforce for
agriculture.
While I was in California, I had the opportunity to meet with growers
and farmers. The cry for labor reform has only grown louder. What I
will do is talk a little bit about the micro impact and then the macro
impact.
California olive farmers delivered only about 50,000 tons of olives
this year. That is down from 142,000 tons last year. So only one-third
of the crop could be harvested this year because of a lack of labor.
Farmers knew their crops were going to be light because of weather
troubles. But even with the smaller crop to harvest, farmers had
trouble hiring enough workers to work in their groves.
In Stanislaus County, a farmer by the name of Kevin Chiesa he is a
grower and is the president of the Stanislaus Farm Bureau--reported
that they simply pulled their fig and peach trees out of the ground
because they did not have enough workers to harvest the ripe fruit. Mr.
President, 350 acres were pulled on his farm, leading to a net dollar
loss of $200,000 and a gross loss of $750,000.
Now, that may not seem like much to some, but it sure is a lot to a
farmer
[[Page S11418]]
who depends on this money to pay his bank loans and to support his
family and pay his mortgage.
In San Bernardino County, Richard Miller of Murai Farms saw his small
farm of 130 acres struggle because of a lack of labor. He reported they
experienced substantial loss in their strawberry crop, resulting in a
half a million dollars in losses already this year. Mr. Miller has been
farming since 1962, but the difficulties he has experienced have
recently caused him to think about giving up his farm and leaving the
profession for good.
Over and over again, I have heard that growers need an immediate fix.
They do not know what to plant in the upcoming spring season because
they do not know whether they will have the workers necessary to
harvest the crops.
I will say that my friend and colleague, Senator Boxer, and I are in
sync on this issue. She also has talked to growers and farmers. She
also knows the problem. She also has been a strong supporter of the
AgJOBS program. So in making my remarks today, I want to be certain
that this body knows I am also speaking for my friend and colleague,
Senator Boxer.
I have brought to the floor today a graphic illustration of one of
our pear growers. Her name is Toni Scully. I have met Toni Scully. I
met with her in California and she told me about the problems her
family had experienced. Shown in this picture is Toni Scully in her
pear orchard. Her family lost 25 percent of their bumper crop this year
because they did not have sufficient labor to harvest the pears. As
shown in the picture, here are the pears all over the ground. They are
all going to be either plowed under or thrown in the garbage. Here is a
woman who will have lost essentially everything this year.
Now, other growers tell me they are afraid for the future. They are
afraid to plant crops that will later be left to rot in the fields. So
some growers are experimenting with moving their farms to Mexico. Last
week, the New York Times ran an article that pointed out how much
imported produce is now rising above exported produce. And one of the
big problems is the produce produced at home is not assured; therefore,
more produce is coming in from outside.
This is so shortsighted because we are throwing American families
into jeopardy. Farming families cannot support themselves if they
cannot produce their crops.
The Grape and Tree League of California--now, this is a big trade
organization representing what is a huge grape and fruit tree crop
group--they estimate that my State alone--Senator Boxer's and my
State--has suffered approximately $75 million in tree fruit and grape
loss alone. That is a loss of $75 million.
The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that if this labor
shortage continues, California agricultural production loss could be as
high as $3 billion each year in the short term and as high as $4.1
billion in the long term. This is decimating. California agricultural
income loss is projected to reach $2.8 billion each year in the long
term.
The problem is not just in California. Dairy farmers in Vermont,
citrus growers in Florida, others throughout the country, have
complained about the labor shortage and the uncertainty it creates for
the future.
The Farm Credit Associations of New York estimate that if the labor
shortage continues there, New York State will lose $195 million in
value of agricultural production and over 200,000 acres in production
over the next 24 months.
The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that if agriculture
loses its migrant labor force, the national production loss in fruits
and vegetables will be between $5 billion and $9 billion a year. This
is not my estimate. This is the American Farm Bureau's estimate. They
also say that over the long term, the annual production loss would
increase to $6.5 billion to $12 billion each year.
These losses are not just limited to growers. The impact is felt
throughout the economy. For every job lost on family farms and ranches,
the country loses three to four jobs in related sectors equipment,
inputs, packaging, processing, transportation, marketing, lending,
insurance--they are all supported by having agricultural production
here in this country.
Low-producing farms mean a lowered local tax base as farms no longer
generate income and create jobs.
Ultimately, the current farm labor situation is making Americans more
dependent on foreign food. Instead of stocking produce grown and
harvested in our country, America's grocers are increasingly filling
their shelves with foreign-grown produce.
For decades, the fiercely independent fruit and vegetable growers of
California, Florida, and other States, traditionally have shunned
Federal subsidies. Now, they are now buckling under the pressure and
asking us for Federal subsidies.
In just one example, because of labor shortages, U.S. avocado farmers
may miss the January market window and lose out to Mexican avocado
farmers who will be allowed to import into California in 2007. This
will wipe out our local avocado crop. The fact that they cannot get the
labor they need to harvest the fruits and vegetables only weakens our
whole American agricultural industry.
Now, the reason for the shortage is simple. There is no readily
available pool of excess labor to replace the 500,000 foreign migrant
workers we have depended on for years. The work is hard. It is stooped.
It is manual. The hours are long. To make a living, the laborer must
travel around the region, from site to site, working for more than one
employer, to coincide with the crop harvesting calendar. The problem
is, we do not have enough American workers who are willing to do this
job.
This week, Senator Craig and I received a letter signed by over 375
agricultural organizations and industry leaders from all over the
country urging agricultural reform this year. As they point out, this
is not a partisan issue. Every area of the country is affected.
In November, I received a letter signed by 147 growers' organizations
and individual farmers. They point out in their letter that they cannot
wait another year, that our State's pear growers had an exceptional
crop, the best-looking crop in over 40 years, yet they suffered major
losses. They point out:
While the pear losses were the most dramatic among the
commodities, other producers suffered as well from delayed
harvests, degraded quality and deferred cultural practices.
These crises are a big deal. Farm worker crews in my State during
harvest were 60 percent of normal--60 percent of normal. What they say
is:
Pending regulatory changes issued by the Department of
Homeland Security propose to turn Social Security
Administration's mismatch letters into immigration compliance
documents. The proposal would allow DHS to prosecute and
penalize employers across this country who do not terminate
employees who cannot verify their status.
So, Mr. President, you see the problem. The farmers are going to be
prosecuted if they hire someone who is not legal to harvest their
crops. And they cannot find legal people to harvest their crops. That
is the dilemma.
Further quoting the letter:
Even though today's employers follow current SSA
requirements regarding mismatch letters, they would be in
violation of the Department of Homeland Security proposal. If
finalized, the DHS proposal will aggravate the current labor
shortage problem in agriculture.
Bottom line, we cannot continue the way we are going. That is why
Senator Craig and I have come to the floor. He has worked on this bill
for 7 years. I finally got involved and we made some agreed-upon
changes. I was able to introduce it in the Judiciary Committee as part
of the immigration bill with these changes. We were able to address H-
2A reform--and I will go into that in a minute--and it passed the
Senate. And, as I say, we believe we have in fact 60 votes in this
House.
The letter I spoke about and quoted from is signed by the Allied
Grape Growers; California Association of Nurseries & Garden Centers;
California Association of Wheat Growers; California Association of
Winegrape Growers; California Bean Shippers Association; California
Citrus Mutual; California Cotton Ginners & Growers Associations;
California Egg Industry Association; California Farm Bureau Federation;
California Fig Advisory Board; California Floral Council; California
Grape and Tree Fruit; California Grain
[[Page S11419]]
and Feed Association; California League of Food Processors; California
Pear Growers Association; California Seed Association; California State
Floral Association; California Warehouse Association; Far West
Equipment Dealers Association; almost every county farm bureau; Nisei
Farmers League; Olive Grower Council of California; and on and on and
on, with different farms, grape growers, olive growers, cotton ginners,
poultry farmers--pages and pages of people pleading with us to do
something. And we do nothing.
We will not repass a bill that has been passed by this Senate once,
and we are in the middle of a major crisis. So I am kind of at my wit's
end.
Let me tell you a little bit about the AgJOBS bill. It is a 5-year
pilot. It would provide a one-time opportunity for trained and
experienced agricultural workers to earn the right to apply for legal
status. It would reform the H-2A visa process so that if new workers
are needed, farmers and growers have a legal path to bring workers to
harvest their crop. Workers can apply for a blue card if they can
demonstrate with records that they have worked in American agriculture
for at least 150 days within the previous 2 years.
I can see my time is running out. May I have a couple minutes more to
sum up?
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator
from California be allowed to proceed for at least 5 more minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Thank you very much.
The blue card would require that they work in American agriculture
for an additional 150 workdays per year for 3 years, or 100 workdays
per year for 5 years. At the end of that time, they would be able to
obtain a green card. Over the 5 years, it would apply to 1.5 million
individuals, which would provide a stable, ongoing workforce for the
United States. Workers would be required to pay a fine of $500, show
that they are current on their taxes, that they have not been convicted
of a crime that involves bodily injury or harm to property in excess of
$500. Employment would be verified. The program would be capped and
sunset.
The Department of Homeland Security would ensure that the ID cards
are encrypted, that they have biometric identifiers, that they contain
anticounterfeiting protections. So you would be able to identify 1.5
million people who are currently illegal. You would know who they are.
You would know they are now legal. You would know they were working in
agriculture, which desperately needs them.
We would also streamline the current agricultural guest worker
program, the H-2A program, which is now unwieldy and ineffective. The
bill would shorten the labor certification process, which now takes 60
days or more, reducing the approval process to 48 to 72 hours.
There are a number of specifics. It freezes the adverse wage rate for
3 years, to be gradually replaced with a prevailing wage standard. The
H-2A visas would be secure and counterfeit resistant. In this way,
agricultural labor would have a permanent workforce and you would have
a secure guest worker program, H-2A, where necessary, to go in to areas
for short periods of time. It is a win/win situation. It has passed
this Senate.
The losses are in the hundreds of millions of dollars across the
Nation, and we do nothing. We stiff the American agricultural industry.
I have a hard time understanding that. I know the votes are here to do
it. We could probably do it. Through the Chair, I ask Senator Craig,
does he not believe we could pass this bill with maybe an hour on the
floor of the Senate.
Mr. CRAIG. I thank the Senator for asking the question. This is not
an unknown issue. We all understand it. The Congress understands it.
The election is over. People can decide whether they survived or failed
because of their position one way or another on immigration. The
reality of what she and I talk about is so real today. We knew it then;
we know it now. We have the 60 votes. We have had them for some time.
There is no question in my mind, with the reforms we are talking about,
this could become law and we could pass it in the Senate.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. If I may, the letter we wrote to Leader Frist asking
that it be calendared, has the Senator received a response? Because I
have not.
Mr. CRAIG. I have not either. Obviously, we are in the closing hours
of the 109th Congress. Whether we could get it done now, but more
importantly, get it done when we get back very early in the year, is
going to be critical to us.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. That is the point. We did not just write this letter.
Perhaps the frustration is showing today. It would be my hope we could
get this calendared sometime in January and get it passed so that the
spring plant can happen all throughout this Nation. Otherwise, I can
only tell you, in my State, farmers who can are going to go to Mexico.
Farmers who can are going to plant in Mexico. Is this what we want to
have happen? I don't think so.
I thank Senator Craig for his longstanding work on this issue and for
his leadership. When one comes to the floor of the Senate, sometimes
one thinks nobody is listening. I hope somebody is listening. I hope
people recognize that we have a huge industry out there. It needs
attention. It needs a workforce. Americans will not do this work.
Therefore, it is a migrant workforce that does the work. There is a
methodology to legalize it, to limit it, to sunset it, and to fix what
has been a broken H-2A program and in a bill that has already passed
the Senate once already during the 109th Congress.
I thank the Chair and my colleague from Idaho.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that following my remarks, the
Senator from Maryland be recognized.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.