[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3785-S3786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AGRICULTURAL TEMPORARY WORKERS
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, every spring season brings many demands
on the time of farmers and ranchers in my home State of Wyoming.
They are busy tending to their livestock, newly born calves and
lambs, and planting their crops. Many of them rely on the H-2A program
to find seasonal and temporary skilled workers to assist them in their
time-honored work.
This program is vital to Wyoming's agricultural industry. That is why
I joined my friend Senator Enzi in asking the Department of Labor to
extend the public comment period on its proposed rule changes to the
program.
Many Wyoming employers have not had an opportunity to fully review
the proposed changes. I recognize that improvement in the program is
needed. We must improve its efficiency for both workers and employers.
Recently, there was a very thoughtful editorial which was printed in
the Wyoming Livestock Roundup on April 12.
The editorial was written by Bryce Reece. Bryce is the executive
vice-president of the Wyoming Woolgrowers Association and I believe he
does a terrific job of summing up the feelings of all Wyoming farmers
and ranchers.
I recommend it to my colleagues and ask that it be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Comment Quickly on Immigration Reform
(By Bryce Reece)
Apparently frustrated with Congress and its lack of action
regarding our immigration laws, the Bush administration has
decided to reform some aspects of our system
administratively.
On Feb. 13 the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a 47-page
proposal to amend regulations regarding nonimmigrant workers
employed in temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs.
Contractual enforcement of nonimmigrant workers and employer
responsibilities are also addressed. These proposed changes
would supposedly ``re-engineer'' the process by which
employers may obtain temporary labor certification from the
DOL for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2A
(agricultural temporary worker) status.
Workers from outside the U.S. are not only vital to Wyoming
and the nation's sheep industry, but are becoming
increasingly important to all of Wyoming's livestock
industry. As importantly, they are vital to all of U.S.
agriculture. As the DOL noted in its proposal, ``Data from
the National Agricultural Worker Survey (NAWS) . . . shows
that in 2006, 19 percent of all agricultural workers were
first-time U.S. farm workers.'' Among the new workers, 85
percent were foreign-born and 15 percent were U.S. citizens.
A new worker is defined as anyone with less than a year's
experience.
Legally bringing in workers from outside of the United
States is a laborious, tedious, time-consuming and expensive
proposition. This statement has become increasingly true
since 9/11. Increased and heightened security has made the
process a bureaucratic and administrative maze, one that many
employers are on the verge of abandoning. Faced with the
increased difficulty of compliance, smothering and draining
regulations and a seemingly endless parade of federal
bureaucrats throwing up roadblocks, it's hard for people in
the countryside trying to run a business and do things right.
[[Page S3786]]
A lack of U.S. workers interested in or seeking employment
in agriculture has compounded the problem. While those in
agriculture have seemed to be ``crying in the wilderness''
about this worker shortage, some have been listening. Senator
Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) recently highlighted the unique
labor needs of agriculture and the importance of foreign
labor in a September 2006 floor statement: ``We have one
million people who usually work in agriculture. I must tell
you they are dominantly undocumented. Senator Craig pointed
out the reason they are undocumented is because American
workers will not do the jobs. When I started this I did not
believe it, so we called all the welfare departments of the
major agriculture counties in California and asked--can you
provide agricultural workers? Not one worker came from the
people who were on welfare who were willing to do this kind
of work.''
The program, which is most commonly used in Wyoming for
bringing in foreign workers, is called the ``H-2A Program.''
The H-2A worker visa program provides a means for U.S.
agricultural employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary
basis. They fill a labor niche that cannot be met in the U.S.
The H-2A program is vital to the western sheep industry;
and, it is the H-2A program that has become a nightmare
for agricultural producers looking to bring foreign
workers to the U.S. legally. It is the H-2A program that
the DOL is proposing to modify and ``fix.''
Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) summarized the problem this
way: ``[T]his economic sector, more than any other, has
become dependent for its existence on the labor of immigrants
who are here without legal documentation. The only program
currently in place to respond to a lack of legal domestic
agricultural workers, the H-2A guest worker program, is
profoundly broken. Outside of H-2A, farm employers have no
effective, reliable assurance that their employees are legal.
We all want and need a stable, predictable, legal workforce
in American agriculture. Willing American workers deserve a
system that puts them first in line for available jobs with
fair market wages. All workers should receive decent
treatment and protection of fundamental legal rights.
Consumers deserve a safe, stable, domestic food supply.
American citizens and taxpayers deserve secure borders and a
government that works. Last year, we saw millions of dollars'
worth of produce rot in the fields for lack of workers. We
are beginning to hear talk of farms moving out of the
country, moving to the foreign workforce. All Americans face
the danger of losing more and more of our safe, domestic food
supply to imports. Time is running out for American
agriculture, farm workers, and consumers. What was a problem
years ago is a crisis today and will be a catastrophe if we
do not act immediately.''
In the proposal out for comment, DOL claims its purpose in
re-engineering the H-2A program and the resulting outcomes
will be:
Simplify the process by which employers obtain a labor
certification.
Increase employer accountability to further protect against
violations of program and worker standards.
Efficiencies in program administration that will
significantly encourage increased program participation,
resulting in an increased legal farm worker labor.
U.S. workers will be better protected from adverse effects
when they are competing with workers who are legally present
in the U.S. and who are subject to all of the requirements of
the H2-A program.
Institute a new auditing process to verify that employers
have, in fact, met their responsibilities under the H2-A
program.
Alter the current H2-A housing inspection procedures.
The devil is always in the details, however, and we have
identified several areas within the proposed changes where
more harm than good could occur. Several agricultural groups
have joined forces to analyze and prepare comments on these
proposed changes.
The WWGA is asking all agriculture supporters and
particularly employers who currently, or may in the future,
utilize the H-2A program, to comment. Comments can be
submitted electronically, which is the quickest and least
expensive method.
For those wishing to secure a copy of the proposed changes,
they can be found at http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/
component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=ETA-2008-0001 (click on
one of the icons in the first row under ``views'').
With comments due on a very short timeline, April 14, we
have posted helpful information including sample comments on
our website at www.wyowool.org. Diane Carpenter in our office
and I would also be glad to answer questions from those
submitting comments on this tremendously important effort.
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