[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 130 (Tuesday, September 15, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H9494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CHILDREN AND EMPLOYMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Roybal-Allard) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Children's 
Act for Responsible Employment, better known as the CARE Act.
  This month, millions of children across the country are returning to 
school. After meeting their teachers and reconnecting with friends, 
they will launch headlong into their studies. Absent from our Nation's 
classroom, however, will be thousands of children who, instead of going 
to school, will be working in the fields and orchards of our country. 
These are not children of local farmers, but hired hands who travel 
from crop to crop to help their families make ends meet.
  These children who help put food on their table start school late and 
continue to work long hours, leaving them little time or energy to do 
their homework. If previous years are any guide, some of these students 
will miss 1 out of every 6 days of school.
  The results are predictable. Studies show that 50 percent of youth 
who regularly perform farm work drop out of school. The consequences of 
this high drop-out rate are tragic.
  In addition to these children being deprived of educational 
opportunities, which could help them escape a lifetime of being stooped 
over in the hot sun picking fruits and vegetables, it deprives our 
country of the talents and potential contributions of these young 
children.
  Adding to their heartbreaking circumstances is the fact that many of 
our labor laws do not protect them equally. Not only do they earn sub-
minimum wages, but under current law the children of agriculture are 
allowed to use hazardous farm equipment and work in an environment that 
continually exposes them to poisonous pesticides, which can lead to 
serious injury or even death.
  These dangerous and exploitive conditions, which are illegal for 
children in every other industry, simply do not reflect the precious 
value we Americans place on children. I am introducing the CARE Act to 
reflect our value.
  The CARE Act raises labor standards for farm worker children to the 
same level as those for children in all other occupations. 
Specifically, the bill raises the minimum age for working in 
agriculture to 14 and restricts children under 16 from working when it 
interferes with their education or endangers their health and well-
being.
  The CARE Act also prohibits children under the age of 18 from 
agricultural work that the Department of Labor has specified as 
particularly hazardous. This is consistent with current law governing 
all industries outside of agriculture.
  The CARE Act also requires employers to document the injuries, 
illness and deaths of these young people. This documentation will 
enable the Department of Labor to monitor and protect children working 
in agriculture from exploitation and dangerous work conditions. And, 
finally, to help ensure compliance with the bill's protective measures, 
the CARE Act sets a minimum fine of $500 for child labor violations and 
a maximum fine of $15,000.
  Madam Speaker, it is our moral obligation to do all we can to protect 
the rights, the safety and the educational future of our most precious 
resource, our children. The CARE Act is a positive step toward meeting 
that obligation.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor and help pass the Children's Act 
for Responsible Employment, known as the CARE Act.

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