[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 161 (Wednesday, December 8, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H8243-H8244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2110
                                AG JOBS

  (Ms. CHU asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, toiling on America's farms is no easy job. Few 
people are willing to endure the heat, cold and misery of stooping in 
the fields--or the low wages. Today, an estimated 75 percent of the 
farming workforce is undocumented. This is bad for everybody.
  Undocumented workers are easy prey for exploitation and are unable to 
assert their rights. Farm workers talk of unbearable heat, poor living 
conditions, even abuse; and they have no one to turn to for help. 
Growers complain about the labor shortages that can spoil their crops. 
I have heard how farms struggle to maintain reliable, legal workforces 
to prune, pick and pack food for America's tables.
  Farm workers and growers need immediate relief to ensure that 
agriculture, especially in California, continues to thrive. That 
solution is ag jobs. Now that the House has passed the DREAM Act, I 
urge the Senate to pass both bills soon so farms can continue to 
operate, and students can achieve their dreams as we work on a 
permanent fix for this broken system.

[[Page H8244]]



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