[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6635-6658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 1268, which the clerk will 
report:
  The assistant bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1268) making emergency supplemental 
     appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, 
     to establish and rapidly implement regulations for State 
     driver's license and identification document security 
     standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws 
     of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for 
     inadmissibility and removal, to ensure expeditious 
     construction of the San Diego border fence, and for other 
     purposes.

  Pending:

       Mikulski amendment No. 387, to revise certain requirements 
     for H-2B employers and require submission of information 
     regarding H-2B nonimmigrants.
       Feinstein amendment No. 395, to express the sense of the 
     Senate that the text of the REAL ID Act of 2005 should not be 
     included in the conference report.
       Bayh amendment No. 406, to protect the financial condition 
     of members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who 
     are ordered to long-term active duty in support of a 
     contingency operation.
       Durbin amendment No. 427, to require reports on Iraqi 
     security services.
       Salazar amendment No. 351, to express the sense of the 
     Senate that the earned income tax credit provides critical 
     support to many military and civilian families.
       Dorgan/Durbin amendment No. 399, to prohibit the 
     continuation of the independent counsel investigation of 
     Henry Cisneros past June 1, 2005, and request an accounting 
     of costs from GAO.
       Reid amendment No. 445, to achieve an acceleration and 
     expansion of efforts to reconstruct and rehabilitate Iraq and 
     to reduce the future risks to United States Armed Forces 
     personnel and future costs to United States taxpayers, by 
     ensuring that the people of Iraq and other nations do their 
     fair share to secure and rebuild Iraq.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.


                           Amendment No. 432

    (Purpose: To simplify the process for admitting temporary alien 
                                agricul-
tural workers under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and 
  Nationality Act, to increase access to such workers, and for other 
                               purposes)

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the pending 
amendments be set aside. On behalf of Senator Chambliss and others, I 
call up amendment No. 432.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Tennessee [Mr. Frist], for Mr. Chambliss, 
     for himself, and Mr. Kyl, proposes an amendment numbered 432.

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in the Record of April 14, 2005, under 
``Text of Amendments.'')
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the amendment be set aside.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                     Amendment No. 375, As Modified

 (Purpose: To provide for the adjustment of status of certain foreign 
 agricultural workers, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
reform the H-2A worker program and the Act, to provide a stable, legal 
 agricultural workforce, to extend basic legal protections and better 
      working conditions to more workers, and for other purposes)

  Mr. FRIST. On behalf of Mr. Craig and others, I call up amendment No. 
375.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Tennessee [Mr. Frist], for Mr. Craig, for 
     himself, and Mr. Kennedy, proposes an amendment numbered 375, 
     as modified.

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 231, between lines 3 and 4, insert the following:

 TITLE VII--AGRICULTURAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES, BENEFITS, AND SECURITY ACT 
                                OF 2005

     SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Agricultural Job 
     Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2005'' or the 
     ``AgJOBS Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Agricultural employment.--The term ``agricultural 
     employment'' means any service or activity that is considered 
     to be agricultural under section 3(f) of the Fair Labor 
     Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)) or agricultural 
     labor under section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 (26 U.S.C. 3121(g)). For purposes of this paragraph, 
     agricultural employment includes employment under section 
     101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)).
       (2) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means any person or 
     entity, including any farm labor contractor and any 
     agricultural association, that employs workers in 
     agricultural employment.
       (3) Job opportunity.--The term ``job opportunity'' means a 
     job opening for temporary full-time employment at a place in 
     the United States to which United States workers can be 
     referred.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Homeland Security.
       (5) Temporary.--A worker is employed on a ``temporary'' 
     basis where the employment is intended not to exceed 10 
     months.
       (6) United States worker.--The term ``United States 
     worker'' means any worker, whether a United States citizen or 
     national, a lawfully admitted permanent resident alien, or 
     any other alien, who is authorized to work in the job 
     opportunity within the United States, except an alien 
     admitted or otherwise provided status under section 
     101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and

[[Page 6636]]

     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)).
       (7) Work day.--The term ``work day'' means any day in which 
     the individual is employed 1 or more hours in agriculture 
     consistent with the definition of ``man-day'' under section 
     3(u) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
     203(u)).

                Subtitle A--Adjustment to Lawful Status

     SEC. 711. AGRICULTURAL WORKERS.

       (a) Temporary Resident Status.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary shall confer upon an alien who qualifies 
     under this subsection the status of an alien lawfully 
     admitted for temporary residence if the Secretary determines 
     that the alien--
       (A) has performed agricultural employment in the United 
     States for at least 575 hours or 100 work days, whichever is 
     less, during any 12 consecutive months during the 18-month 
     period ending on December 31, 2004;
       (B) applied for such status during the 18-month application 
     period beginning on the first day of the seventh month that 
     begins after the date of enactment of this Act; and
       (C) is otherwise admissible to the United States under 
     section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1182), except as otherwise provided under subsection (e)(2).
       (2) Authorized travel.--During the period an alien is in 
     lawful temporary resident status granted under this 
     subsection, the alien has the right to travel abroad 
     (including commutation from a residence abroad) in the same 
     manner as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
       (3) Authorized employment.--During the period an alien is 
     in lawful temporary resident status granted under this 
     subsection, the alien shall be provided an ``employment 
     authorized'' endorsement or other appropriate work permit, in 
     the same manner as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
     residence.
       (4) Termination of temporary resident status.--
       (A) In general.--During the period of temporary resident 
     status granted an alien under this subsection, the Secretary 
     may terminate such status only upon a determination under 
     this Act that the alien is deportable.
       (B) Grounds for termination of temporary resident status.--
     Before any alien becomes eligible for adjustment of status 
     under subsection (c), the Secretary may deny adjustment to 
     permanent resident status and provide for termination of the 
     temporary resident status granted such alien under paragraph 
     (1) if--
       (i) the Secretary finds, by a preponderance of the 
     evidence, that the adjustment to temporary resident status 
     was the result of fraud or willful misrepresentation (as 
     described in section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)); or
       (ii) the alien--

       (I) commits an act that makes the alien inadmissible to the 
     United States as an immigrant, except as provided under 
     subsection (e)(2);
       (II) is convicted of a felony or 3 or more misdemeanors 
     committed in the United States; or
       (III) is convicted of a single misdemeanor for which the 
     actual sentence served is 6 months or longer.

       (5) Record of employment.--
       (A) In general.--Each employer of a worker granted status 
     under this subsection shall annually--
       (i) provide a written record of employment to the alien; 
     and
       (ii) provide a copy of such record to the Secretary.
       (B) Sunset.--The obligation under subparagraph (A) shall 
     terminate on the date that is 6 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (b) Rights of Aliens Granted Temporary Resident Status.--
       (1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subsection, an alien who acquires the status of an alien 
     lawfully admitted for temporary residence under subsection 
     (a), such status not having changed, shall be considered to 
     be an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence for 
     purposes of any law other than any provision of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
       (2) Delayed eligibility for certain federal public 
     benefits.--An alien who acquires the status of an alien 
     lawfully admitted for temporary residence under subsection 
     (a) as described in paragraph (1) shall not be eligible, by 
     reason of such acquisition of that status, for any form of 
     assistance or benefit described in section 403(a) of the 
     Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 
     Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(a)) until 5 years after the date 
     on which the Secretary confers permanent resident status upon 
     that alien under subsection (a).
       (3) Terms of employment respecting aliens admitted under 
     this section.--
       (A) Prohibition.--No alien granted temporary resident 
     status under subsection (a) may be terminated from employment 
     by any employer during the period of temporary resident 
     status except for just cause.
       (B) Treatment of complaints.--
       (i) Establishment of process.--The Secretary shall 
     establish a process for the receipt, initial review, and 
     disposition in accordance with this subparagraph of 
     complaints by aliens granted temporary resident status under 
     subsection (a) who allege that they have been terminated 
     without just cause. No proceeding shall be conducted under 
     this subparagraph with respect to a termination unless the 
     Secretary determines that the complaint was filed not later 
     than 6 months after the date of the termination.
       (ii) Initiation of arbitration.--If the Secretary finds 
     that a complaint has been filed in accordance with clause (i) 
     and there is reasonable cause to believe that the complainant 
     was terminated without just cause, the Secretary shall 
     initiate binding arbitration proceedings by requesting the 
     Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to appoint a 
     mutually agreeable arbitrator from the roster of arbitrators 
     maintained by such Service for the geographical area in which 
     the employer is located. The procedures and rules of such 
     Service shall be applicable to the selection of such 
     arbitrator and to such arbitration proceedings. The Secretary 
     shall pay the fee and expenses of the arbitrator, subject to 
     the availability of appropriations for such purpose.
       (iii) Arbitration proceedings.--The arbitrator shall 
     conduct the proceeding in accordance with the policies and 
     procedures promulgated by the American Arbitration 
     Association applicable to private arbitration of employment 
     disputes. The arbitrator shall make findings respecting 
     whether the termination was for just cause. The arbitrator 
     may not find that the termination was for just cause unless 
     the employer so demonstrates by a preponderance of the 
     evidence. If the arbitrator finds that the termination was 
     not for just cause, the arbitrator shall make a specific 
     finding of the number of days or hours of work lost by the 
     employee as a result of the termination. The arbitrator shall 
     have no authority to order any other remedy, including, but 
     not limited to, reinstatement, back pay, or front pay to the 
     affected employee. Within 30 days from the conclusion of the 
     arbitration proceeding, the arbitrator shall transmit the 
     findings in the form of a written opinion to the parties to 
     the arbitration and the Secretary. Such findings shall be 
     final and conclusive, and no official or court of the United 
     States shall have the power or jurisdiction to review any 
     such findings.
       (iv) Effect of arbitration findings.--If the Secretary 
     receives a finding of an arbitrator that an employer has 
     terminated an alien granted temporary resident status under 
     subsection (a) without just cause, the Secretary shall credit 
     the alien for the number of days or hours of work lost for 
     purposes of the requirement of subsection (c)(1).
       (v) Treatment of attorney's fees.--The parties shall bear 
     the cost of their own attorney's fees involved in the 
     litigation of the complaint.
       (vi) Nonexclusive remedy.--The complaint process provided 
     for in this subparagraph is in addition to any other rights 
     an employee may have in accordance with applicable law.
       (vii) Effect on other actions or proceedings.--Any finding 
     of fact or law, judgment, conclusion, or final order made by 
     an arbitrator in the proceeding before the Secretary shall 
     not be conclusive or binding in any separate or subsequent 
     action or proceeding between the employee and the employee's 
     current or prior employer brought before an arbitrator, 
     administrative agency, court, or judge of any State or the 
     United States, regardless of whether the prior action was 
     between the same or related parties or involved the same 
     facts, except that the arbitrator's specific finding of the 
     number of days or hours of work lost by the employee as a 
     result of the employment termination may be referred to the 
     Secretary pursuant to clause (iv).
       (C) Civil penalties.--
       (i) In general.--If the Secretary finds, after notice and 
     opportunity for a hearing, that an employer of an alien 
     granted temporary resident status under subsection (a) has 
     failed to provide the record of employment required under 
     subsection (a)(5) or has provided a false statement of 
     material fact in such a record, the employer shall be subject 
     to a civil money penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 
     per violation.
       (ii) Limitation.--The penalty applicable under clause (i) 
     for failure to provide records shall not apply unless the 
     alien has provided the employer with evidence of employment 
     authorization granted under this section.
       (c) Adjustment to Permanent Residence.--
       (1) Agricultural workers.--
       (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Secretary shall adjust the status of an alien granted 
     lawful temporary resident status under subsection (a) to that 
     of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the 
     Secretary determines that the following requirements are 
     satisfied:
       (i) Qualifying employment.--The alien has performed at 
     least 360 work days or 2,060 hours, but in no case less than 
     2,060 hours, of agricultural employment in the United States, 
     during the 6-year period beginning after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (ii) Qualifying years.--The alien has performed at least 75 
     work days or 430 hours, but in no case less than 430 hours, 
     of agricultural employment in the United States in at

[[Page 6637]]

     least 3 nonoverlapping periods of 12 consecutive months 
     during the 6-year period beginning after the date of 
     enactment of this Act. Qualifying periods under this clause 
     may include nonconsecutive 12-month periods.
       (iii) Qualifying work in first 3 years.--The alien has 
     performed at least 240 work days or 1,380 hours, but in no 
     case less than 1,380 hours, of agricultural employment during 
     the 3-year period beginning after the date of enactment of 
     this Act.
       (iv) Application period.--The alien applies for adjustment 
     of status not later than 7 years after the date of enactment 
     of this Act.
       (v) Proof.--In meeting the requirements of clauses (i), 
     (ii), and (iii), an alien may submit the record of employment 
     described in subsection (a)(5) or such documentation as may 
     be submitted under subsection (d)(3).
       (vi) Disability.--In determining whether an alien has met 
     the requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), the 
     Secretary shall credit the alien with any work days lost 
     because the alien was unable to work in agricultural 
     employment due to injury or disease arising out of and in the 
     course of the alien's agricultural employment, if the alien 
     can establish such disabling injury or disease through 
     medical records.
       (B) Grounds for denial of adjustment of status.--The 
     Secretary may deny an alien adjustment to permanent resident 
     status, and provide for termination of the temporary resident 
     status granted such alien under subsection (a), if--
       (i) the Secretary finds by a preponderance of the evidence 
     that the adjustment to temporary resident status was the 
     result of fraud or willful misrepresentation, as described in 
     section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)); or
       (ii) the alien--

       (I) commits an act that makes the alien inadmissible to the 
     United States under section 212 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182), except as provided under 
     subsection (e)(2);
       (II) is convicted of a felony or 3 or more misdemeanors 
     committed in the United States; or
       (III) is convicted of a single misdemeanor for which the 
     actual sentence served is 6 months or longer.

       (C) Grounds for removal.--Any alien granted temporary 
     resident status under subsection (a) who does not apply for 
     adjustment of status under this subsection before the 
     expiration of the application period described in 
     subparagraph (A)(iv), or who fails to meet the other 
     requirements of subparagraph (A) by the end of the applicable 
     period, is deportable and may be removed under section 240 of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). The 
     Secretary shall issue regulations establishing grounds to 
     waive subparagraph (A)(iii) with respect to an alien who has 
     completed at least 200 days of the work requirement specified 
     in such subparagraph in the event of a natural disaster which 
     substantially limits the availability of agricultural 
     employment or a personal emergency that prevents compliance 
     with such subparagraph.
       (2) Spouses and minor children.--
       (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary shall confer the status of lawful 
     permanent resident on the spouse and minor child of an alien 
     granted status under paragraph (1), including any individual 
     who was a minor child on the date such alien was granted 
     temporary resident status, if the spouse or minor child 
     applies for such status, or if the principal alien includes 
     the spouse or minor child in an application for adjustment of 
     status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
       (B) Treatment of spouses and minor children before 
     adjustment of status.--A spouse and minor child of an alien 
     granted temporary resident status under subsection (a) may 
     not be--
       (i) removed while such alien maintains such status, except 
     as provided in subparagraph (C); and
       (ii) granted authorization to engage in employment in the 
     United States or be provided an ``employment authorized'' 
     endorsement or other work permit, unless such employment 
     authorization is granted under another provision of law.
       (C) Grounds for denial of adjustment of status and 
     removal.--The Secretary may deny an alien spouse or child 
     adjustment of status under subparagraph (A) and may remove 
     such spouse or child under section 240 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) if the spouse or child--
       (i) commits an act that makes the alien spouse or child 
     inadmissible to the United States under section 212 of such 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1182), except as provided under subsection 
     (e)(2);
       (ii) is convicted of a felony or 3 or more misdemeanors 
     committed in the United States; or
       (iii) is convicted of a single misdemeanor for which the 
     actual sentence served is 6 months or longer.
       (d) Applications.--
       (1) To whom may be made.--
       (A) Within the united states.--The Secretary shall provide 
     that--
       (i) applications for temporary resident status under 
     subsection (a) may be filed--

       (I) with the Secretary, but only if the applicant is 
     represented by an attorney; or
       (II) with a qualified designated entity (designated under 
     paragraph (2)), but only if the applicant consents to the 
     forwarding of the application to the Secretary; and

       (ii) applications for adjustment of status under subsection 
     (c) shall be filed directly with the Secretary.
       (B) Outside the united states.--The Secretary, in 
     cooperation with the Secretary of State, shall establish a 
     procedure whereby an alien may apply for temporary resident 
     status under subsection (a) at an appropriate consular office 
     outside the United States.
       (C) Preliminary applications.--
       (i) In general.--During the application period described in 
     subsection (a)(1)(B), the Secretary may grant admission to 
     the United States as a temporary resident and provide an 
     ``employment authorized'' endorsement or other appropriate 
     work permit to any alien who presents a preliminary 
     application for such status under subsection (a) at a 
     designated port of entry on the southern land border of the 
     United States. An alien who does not enter through a port of 
     entry is subject to deportation and removal as otherwise 
     provided in this Act.
       (ii) Definition.--For purposes of clause (i), the term 
     ``preliminary application'' means a fully completed and 
     signed application which contains specific information 
     concerning the performance of qualifying employment in the 
     United States, together with the payment of the appropriate 
     fee and the submission of photographs and the documentary 
     evidence which the applicant intends to submit as proof of 
     such employment.
       (iii) Eligibility.--An applicant under clause (i) shall 
     otherwise be admissible to the United States under subsection 
     (e)(2) and shall establish to the satisfaction of the 
     examining officer during an interview that the applicant's 
     claim to eligibility for temporary resident status is 
     credible.
       (D) Travel documentation.--The Secretary shall provide each 
     alien granted status under this section with a counterfeit-
     resistant document of authorization to enter or reenter the 
     United States that meets the requirements established by the 
     Secretary.
       (2) Designation of entities to receive applications.--
       (A) In general.--For purposes of receiving applications 
     under subsection (a), the Secretary--
       (i) shall designate qualified farm labor organizations and 
     associations of employers; and
       (ii) may designate such other persons as the Secretary 
     determines are qualified and have substantial experience, 
     demonstrate competence, and have traditional long-term 
     involvement in the preparation and submission of applications 
     for adjustment of status under section 209, 210, or 245 of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act, Public Law 89-732, 
     Public Law 95-145, or the Immigration Reform and Control Act 
     of 1986.
       (B) References.--Organizations, associations, and persons 
     designated under subparagraph (A) are referred to in this Act 
     as ``qualified designated entities''.
       (3) Proof of eligibility.--
       (A) In general.--An alien may establish that the alien 
     meets the requirement of subsection (a)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(A) 
     through government employment records or records supplied by 
     employers or collective bargaining organizations, and other 
     reliable documentation as the alien may provide. The 
     Secretary shall establish special procedures to properly 
     credit work in cases in which an alien was employed under an 
     assumed name.
       (B) Documentation of work history.--
       (i) Burden of proof.--An alien applying for status under 
     subsection (a)(1) or (c)(1) has the burden of proving by a 
     preponderance of the evidence that the alien has worked the 
     requisite number of hours or days (as required under 
     subsection (a)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(A)).
       (ii) Timely production of records.--If an employer or farm 
     labor contractor employing such an alien has kept proper and 
     adequate records respecting such employment, the alien's 
     burden of proof under clause (i) may be met by securing 
     timely production of those records under regulations to be 
     promulgated by the Secretary.
       (iii) Sufficient evidence.--An alien can meet the burden of 
     proof under clause (i) to establish that the alien has 
     performed the work described in subsection (a)(1)(A) or 
     (c)(1)(A) by producing sufficient evidence to show the extent 
     of that employment as a matter of just and reasonable 
     inference.
       (4) Treatment of applications by qualified designated 
     entities.--Each qualified designated entity shall agree to 
     forward to the Secretary applications filed with it in 
     accordance with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(II) but shall not forward 
     to the Secretary applications filed with it unless the 
     applicant has consented to such forwarding. No such entity 
     may make a determination required by this section to be made 
     by the Secretary. Upon the request of the alien, a qualified 
     designated entity shall assist the alien in obtaining 
     documentation of the work history of the alien.
       (5) Limitation on access to information.--Files and records 
     prepared for purposes of this subsection by qualified 
     designated entities operating under this subsection are 
     confidential and the Secretary shall not have

[[Page 6638]]

     access to such files or records relating to an alien without 
     the consent of the alien, except as allowed by a court order 
     issued pursuant to paragraph (6).
       (6) Confidentiality of information.--
       (A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subsection, neither the Secretary, nor any other official or 
     employee of the Department of Homeland Security, or bureau or 
     agency thereof, may--
       (i) use the information furnished by the applicant pursuant 
     to an application filed under this section, the information 
     provided to the applicant by a person designated under 
     paragraph (2)(A), or any information provided by an employer 
     or former employer, for any purpose other than to make a 
     determination on the application, or for enforcement of 
     paragraph (7);
       (ii) make any publication whereby the information furnished 
     by any particular individual can be identified; or
       (iii) permit anyone other than the sworn officers and 
     employees of the Department of Homeland Security, or bureau 
     or agency thereof, or, with respect to applications filed 
     with a qualified designated entity, that qualified designated 
     entity, to examine individual applications.
       (B) Required disclosures.--The Secretary shall provide the 
     information furnished under this section, or any other 
     information derived from such furnished information, to--
       (i) a duly recognized law enforcement entity in connection 
     with a criminal investigation or prosecution, if such 
     information is requested in writing by such entity; or
       (ii) an official coroner, for purposes of affirmatively 
     identifying a deceased individual, whether or not the death 
     of such individual resulted from a crime.
       (C) Construction.--
       (i) In general.--Nothing in this paragraph shall be 
     construed to limit the use, or release, for immigration 
     enforcement purposes or law enforcement purposes of 
     information contained in files or records of the Department 
     of Homeland Security pertaining to an application filed under 
     this section, other than information furnished by an 
     applicant pursuant to the application, or any other 
     information derived from the application, that is not 
     available from any other source.
       (ii) Criminal convictions.--Information concerning whether 
     the applicant has at any time been convicted of a crime may 
     be used or released for immigration enforcement or law 
     enforcement purposes.
       (D) Crime.--Any person who knowingly uses, publishes, or 
     permits information to be examined in violation of this 
     paragraph shall be subject to a fine in an amount not to 
     exceed $10,000.
       (7) Penalties for false statements in applications.--
       (A) Criminal penalty.--Any person who--
       (i) files an application for status under subsection (a) or 
     (c) and knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or 
     covers up a material fact or makes any false, fictitious, or 
     fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses 
     any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any 
     false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; or
       (ii) creates or supplies a false writing or document for 
     use in making such an application, shall be fined in 
     accordance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not 
     more than 5 years, or both.
       (B) Inadmissibility.--An alien who is convicted of a crime 
     under subparagraph (A) shall be considered to be inadmissible 
     to the United States on the ground described in section 
     212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)).
       (8) Eligibility for legal services.--Section 504(a)(11) of 
     Public Law 104-134 (110 Stat. 1321-53 et seq.) shall not be 
     construed to prevent a recipient of funds under the Legal 
     Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.) from 
     providing legal assistance directly related to an application 
     for adjustment of status under this section.
       (9) Application fees.--
       (A) Fee schedule.--The Secretary shall provide for a 
     schedule of fees that--
       (i) shall be charged for the filing of applications for 
     status under subsections (a) and (c); and
       (ii) may be charged by qualified designated entities to 
     help defray the costs of services provided to such 
     applicants.
       (B) Prohibition on excess fees by qualified designated 
     entities.--A qualified designated entity may not charge any 
     fee in excess of, or in addition to, the fees authorized 
     under subparagraph (A)(ii) for services provided to 
     applicants.
       (C) Disposition of fees.--
       (i) In general.--There is established in the general fund 
     of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as 
     the ``Agricultural Worker Immigration Status Adjustment 
     Account''. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there 
     shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account 
     all fees collected under subparagraph (A)(i).
       (ii) Use of fees for application processing.--Amounts 
     deposited in the ``Agricultural Worker Immigration Status 
     Adjustment Account'' shall remain available to the Secretary 
     until expended for processing applications for status under 
     subsections (a) and (c).
       (e) Waiver of Numerical Limitations and Certain Grounds for 
     Inadmissibility.--
       (1) Numerical limitations do not apply.--The numerical 
     limitations of sections 201 and 202 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 and 1152) shall not apply to 
     the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent resident status 
     under this section.
       (2) Waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility.--In the 
     determination of an alien's eligibility for status under 
     subsection (a)(1)(C) or an alien's eligibility for adjustment 
     of status under subsection (c)(1)(B)(ii)(I), the following 
     rules shall apply:
       (A) Grounds of exclusion not applicable.--The provisions of 
     paragraphs (5), (6)(A), (7)(A), and (9)(B) of section 212(a) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) 
     shall not apply.
       (B) Waiver of other grounds.--
       (i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the 
     Secretary may waive any other provision of such section 
     212(a) in the case of individual aliens for humanitarian 
     purposes, to ensure family unity, or if otherwise in the 
     public interest.
       (ii) Grounds that may not be waived.--Paragraphs (2)(A), 
     (2)(B), (2)(C), (3), and (4) of such section 212(a) may not 
     be waived by the Secretary under clause (i).
       (iii) Construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph shall be 
     construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary other 
     than under this subparagraph to waive provisions of such 
     section 212(a).
       (C) Special rule for determination of public charge.--An 
     alien is not ineligible for status under this section by 
     reason of a ground of inadmissibility under section 212(a)(4) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)) 
     if the alien demonstrates a history of employment in the 
     United States evidencing self-support without reliance on 
     public cash assistance.
       (f) Temporary Stay of Removal and Work Authorization for 
     Certain Applicants.--
       (1) Before application period.--Effective on the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide that, in 
     the case of an alien who is apprehended before the beginning 
     of the application period described in subsection (a)(1)(B) 
     and who can establish a nonfrivolous case of eligibility for 
     temporary resident status under subsection (a) (but for the 
     fact that the alien may not apply for such status until the 
     beginning of such period), until the alien has had the 
     opportunity during the first 30 days of the application 
     period to complete the filing of an application for temporary 
     resident status, the alien--
       (A) may not be removed; and
       (B) shall be granted authorization to engage in employment 
     in the United States and be provided an ``employment 
     authorized'' endorsement or other appropriate work permit for 
     such purpose.
       (2) During application period.--The Secretary shall provide 
     that, in the case of an alien who presents a nonfrivolous 
     application for temporary resident status under subsection 
     (a) during the application period described in subsection 
     (a)(1)(B), including an alien who files such an application 
     within 30 days of the alien's apprehension, and until a final 
     determination on the application has been made in accordance 
     with this section, the alien--
       (A) may not be removed; and
       (B) shall be granted authorization to engage in employment 
     in the United States and be provided an ``employment 
     authorized'' endorsement or other appropriate work permit for 
     such purpose.
       (g) Administrative and Judicial Review.--
       (1) In general.--There shall be no administrative or 
     judicial review of a determination respecting an application 
     for status under subsection (a) or (c) except in accordance 
     with this subsection.
       (2) Administrative review.--
       (A) Single level of administrative appellate review.--The 
     Secretary shall establish an appellate authority to provide 
     for a single level of administrative appellate review of such 
     a determination.
       (B) Standard for review.--Such administrative appellate 
     review shall be based solely upon the administrative record 
     established at the time of the determination on the 
     application and upon such additional or newly discovered 
     evidence as may not have been available at the time of the 
     determination.
       (3) Judicial review.--
       (A) Limitation to review of removal.--There shall be 
     judicial review of such a determination only in the judicial 
     review of an order of removal under section 242 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252).
       (B) Standard for judicial review.--Such judicial review 
     shall be based solely upon the administrative record 
     established at the time of the review by the appellate 
     authority and the findings of fact and determinations 
     contained in such record shall be conclusive unless the 
     applicant can establish abuse of discretion or that the 
     findings are directly contrary to clear and convincing facts 
     contained in the record considered as a whole.
       (h) Dissemination of Information on Adjustment Program.--
     Beginning not later than the first day of the application 
     period

[[Page 6639]]

     described in subsection (a)(1)(B), the Secretary, in 
     cooperation with qualified designated entities, shall broadly 
     disseminate information respecting the benefits that aliens 
     may receive under this section and the requirements to be 
     satisfied to obtain such benefits.
       (i) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue regulations to 
     implement this section not later than the first day of the 
     seventh month that begins after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.
       (j) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the 
     date that regulations are issued implementing this section on 
     an interim or other basis.
       (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section 
     $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009.

     SEC. 712. CORRECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS.

       (a) In General.--Section 208(d)(1) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 408(d)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``or'' at the end;
       (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
       ``(D) who is granted status as a lawful temporary resident 
     under the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and 
     Security Act of 2005,''; and
       (4) by striking ``1990.'' and inserting ``1990, or in the 
     case of an alien described in subparagraph (D), if such 
     conduct is alleged to have occurred before the date on which 
     the alien was granted lawful temporary resident status.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month that 
     begins after the date of enactment of this Act.

               Subtitle B--Reform of H-2A Worker Program

     SEC. 721. AMENDMENT TO THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.

       (a) In General.--The Immigration and Nationality Act is 
     amended by striking section 218 (8 U.S.C. 1188) and inserting 
     the following:


                      ``H-2A EMPLOYER APPLICATIONS

       ``Sec. 218. (a) Applications to the Secretary of Labor.--
       ``(1) In general.--No alien may be admitted to the United 
     States as an H-2A worker, or otherwise provided status as an 
     H-2A worker, unless the employer has filed with the Secretary 
     of Labor an application containing--
       ``(A) the assurances described in subsection (b);
       ``(B) a description of the nature and location of the work 
     to be performed;
       ``(C) the anticipated period (expected beginning and ending 
     dates) for which the workers will be needed; and
       ``(D) the number of job opportunities in which the employer 
     seeks to employ the workers.
       ``(2) Accompanied by job offer.--Each application filed 
     under paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by a copy of the job 
     offer describing the wages and other terms and conditions of 
     employment and the bona fide occupational qualifications that 
     shall be possessed by a worker to be employed in the job 
     opportunity in question.
       ``(b) Assurances for Inclusion in Applications.--The 
     assurances referred to in subsection (a)(1) are the 
     following:
       ``(1) Job opportunities covered by collective bargaining 
     agreements.--With respect to a job opportunity that is 
     covered under a collective bargaining agreement:
       ``(A) Union contract described.--The job opportunity is 
     covered by a union contract which was negotiated at arm's 
     length between a bona fide union and the employer.
       ``(B) Strike or lockout.--The specific job opportunity for 
     which the employer is requesting an H-2A worker is not vacant 
     because the former occupant is on strike or being locked out 
     in the course of a labor dispute.
       ``(C) Notification of bargaining representatives.--The 
     employer, at the time of filing the application, has provided 
     notice of the filing under this paragraph to the bargaining 
     representative of the employer's employees in the 
     occupational classification at the place or places of 
     employment for which aliens are sought.
       ``(D) Temporary or seasonal job opportunities.--The job 
     opportunity is temporary or seasonal.
       ``(E) Offers to united states workers.--The employer has 
     offered or will offer the job to any eligible United States 
     worker who applies and is equally or better qualified for the 
     job for which the nonimmigrant is, or the nonimmigrants are, 
     sought and who will be available at the time and place of 
     need.
       ``(F) Provision of insurance.--If the job opportunity is 
     not covered by the State workers' compensation law, the 
     employer will provide, at no cost to the worker, insurance 
     covering injury and disease arising out of, and in the course 
     of, the worker's employment which will provide benefits at 
     least equal to those provided under the State's workers' 
     compensation law for comparable employment.
       ``(2) Job opportunities not covered by collective 
     bargaining agreements.--With respect to a job opportunity 
     that is not covered under a collective bargaining agreement:
       ``(A) Strike or lockout.--The specific job opportunity for 
     which the employer is requesting an H-2A worker is not vacant 
     because the former occupant is on strike or being locked out 
     in the course of a labor dispute.
       ``(B) Temporary or seasonal job opportunities.--The job 
     opportunity is temporary or seasonal.
       ``(C) Benefit, wage, and working conditions.--The employer 
     will provide, at a minimum, the benefits, wages, and working 
     conditions required by section 218A to all workers employed 
     in the job opportunities for which the employer has applied 
     under subsection (a) and to all other workers in the same 
     occupation at the place of employment.
       ``(D) Nondisplacement of united states workers.--The 
     employer did not displace and will not displace a United 
     States worker employed by the employer during the period of 
     employment and for a period of 30 days preceding the period 
     of employment in the occupation at the place of employment 
     for which the employer seeks approval to employ H-2A workers.
       ``(E) Requirements for placement of nonimmigrant with other 
     employers.--The employer will not place the nonimmigrant with 
     another employer unless--
       ``(i) the nonimmigrant performs duties in whole or in part 
     at 1 or more work sites owned, operated, or controlled by 
     such other employer;
       ``(ii) there are indicia of an employment relationship 
     between the nonimmigrant and such other employer; and
       ``(iii) the employer has inquired of the other employer as 
     to whether, and has no actual knowledge or notice that, 
     during the period of employment and for a period of 30 days 
     preceding the period of employment, the other employer has 
     displaced or intends to displace a United States worker 
     employed by the other employer in the occupation at the place 
     of employment for which the employer seeks approval to employ 
     H-2A workers.
       ``(F) Statement of liability.--The application form shall 
     include a clear statement explaining the liability under 
     subparagraph (E) of an employer if the other employer 
     described in such subparagraph displaces a United States 
     worker as described in such subparagraph.
       ``(G) Provision of insurance.--If the job opportunity is 
     not covered by the State workers' compensation law, the 
     employer will provide, at no cost to the worker, insurance 
     covering injury and disease arising out of and in the course 
     of the worker's employment which will provide benefits at 
     least equal to those provided under the State's workers' 
     compensation law for comparable employment.
       ``(H) Employment of united states workers.--
       ``(i) Recruitment.--The employer has taken or will take the 
     following steps to recruit United States workers for the job 
     opportunities for which the H-2A nonimmigrant is, or H-2A 
     nonimmigrants are, sought:

       ``(I) Contacting former workers.--The employer shall make 
     reasonable efforts through the sending of a letter by United 
     States Postal Service mail, or otherwise, to contact any 
     United States worker the employer employed during the 
     previous season in the occupation at the place of intended 
     employment for which the employer is applying for workers and 
     has made the availability of the employer's job opportunities 
     in the occupation at the place of intended employment known 
     to such previous workers, unless the worker was terminated 
     from employment by the employer for a lawful job-related 
     reason or abandoned the job before the worker completed the 
     period of employment of the job opportunity for which the 
     worker was hired.
       ``(II) Filing a job offer with the local office of the 
     state employment security agency.--Not later than 28 days 
     before the date on which the employer desires to employ an H-
     2A worker in a temporary or seasonal agricultural job 
     opportunity, the employer shall submit a copy of the job 
     offer described in subsection (a)(2) to the local office of 
     the State employment security agency which serves the area of 
     intended employment and authorize the posting of the job 
     opportunity on `America's Job Bank' or other electronic job 
     registry, except that nothing in this subclause shall require 
     the employer to file an interstate job order under section 
     653 of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations.
       ``(III) Advertising of job opportunities.--Not later than 
     14 days before the date on which the employer desires to 
     employ an H-2A worker in a temporary or seasonal agricultural 
     job opportunity, the employer shall advertise the 
     availability of the job opportunities for which the employer 
     is seeking workers in a publication in the local labor market 
     that is likely to be patronized by potential farm workers.
       ``(IV) Emergency procedures.--The Secretary of Labor shall, 
     by regulation, provide a procedure for acceptance and 
     approval of applications in which the employer has not

[[Page 6640]]

     complied with the provisions of this subparagraph because the 
     employer's need for H-2A workers could not reasonably have 
     been foreseen.

       ``(ii) Job offers.--The employer has offered or will offer 
     the job to any eligible United States worker who applies and 
     is equally or better qualified for the job for which the 
     nonimmigrant is, or nonimmigrants are, sought and who will be 
     available at the time and place of need.
       ``(iii) Period of employment.--The employer will provide 
     employment to any qualified United States worker who applies 
     to the employer during the period beginning on the date on 
     which the foreign worker departs for the employer's place of 
     employment and ending on the date on which 50 percent of the 
     period of employment for which the foreign worker who is in 
     the job was hired has elapsed, subject to the following 
     requirements:

       ``(I) Prohibition.--No person or entity shall willfully and 
     knowingly withhold United States workers before the arrival 
     of H-2A workers in order to force the hiring of United States 
     workers under this clause.
       ``(II) Complaints.--Upon receipt of a complaint by an 
     employer that a violation of subclause (I) has occurred, the 
     Secretary of Labor shall immediately investigate. The 
     Secretary of Labor shall, within 36 hours of the receipt of 
     the complaint, issue findings concerning the alleged 
     violation. If the Secretary of Labor finds that a violation 
     has occurred, the Secretary of Labor shall immediately 
     suspend the application of this clause with respect to that 
     certification for that date of need.
       ``(III) Placement of united states workers.--Before 
     referring a United States worker to an employer during the 
     period described in the matter preceding subclause (I), the 
     Secretary of Labor shall make all reasonable efforts to place 
     the United States worker in an open job acceptable to the 
     worker, if there are other job offers pending with the job 
     service that offer similar job opportunities in the area of 
     intended employment.

       ``(iv) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this 
     subparagraph shall be construed to prohibit an employer from 
     using such legitimate selection criteria relevant to the type 
     of job that are normal or customary to the type of job 
     involved so long as such criteria are not applied in a 
     discriminatory manner.
       ``(c) Applications by Associations on Behalf of Employer 
     Members.--
       ``(1) In general.--An agricultural association may file an 
     application under subsection (a) on behalf of 1 or more of 
     its employer members that the association certifies in its 
     application has or have agreed in writing to comply with the 
     requirements of this section and sections 218A through 218C.
       ``(2) Treatment of associations acting as employers.--If an 
     association filing an application under paragraph (1) is a 
     joint or sole employer of the temporary or seasonal 
     agricultural workers requested on the application, the 
     certifications granted under subsection (e)(2)(B) to the 
     association may be used for the certified job opportunities 
     of any of its producer members named on the application, and 
     such workers may be transferred among such producer members 
     to perform the agricultural services of a temporary or 
     seasonal nature for which the certifications were granted.
       ``(d) Withdrawal of Applications.--
       ``(1) In general.--An employer may withdraw an application 
     filed pursuant to subsection (a), except that if the employer 
     is an agricultural association, the association may withdraw 
     an application filed pursuant to subsection (a) with respect 
     to 1 or more of its members. To withdraw an application, the 
     employer or association shall notify the Secretary of Labor 
     in writing, and the Secretary of Labor shall acknowledge in 
     writing the receipt of such withdrawal notice. An employer 
     who withdraws an application under subsection (a), or on 
     whose behalf an application is withdrawn, is relieved of the 
     obligations undertaken in the application.
       ``(2) Limitation.--An application may not be withdrawn 
     while any alien provided status under section 
     101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) pursuant to such application is employed 
     by the employer.
       ``(3) Obligations under other statutes.--Any obligation 
     incurred by an employer under any other law or regulation as 
     a result of the recruitment of United States workers or H-2A 
     workers under an offer of terms and conditions of employment 
     required as a result of making an application under 
     subsection (a) is unaffected by withdrawal of such 
     application.
       ``(e) Review and Approval of Applications.--
       ``(1) Responsibility of employers.--The employer shall make 
     available for public examination, within 1 working day after 
     the date on which an application under subsection (a) is 
     filed, at the employer's principal place of business or work 
     site, a copy of each such application (and such accompanying 
     documents as are necessary).
       ``(2) Responsibility of the secretary of labor.--
       ``(A) Compilation of list.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
     compile, on a current basis, a list (by employer and by 
     occupational classification) of the applications filed under 
     this subsection. Such list shall include the wage rate, 
     number of workers sought, period of intended employment, and 
     date of need. The Secretary of Labor shall make such list 
     available for examination in the District of Columbia.
       ``(B) Review of applications.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
     review such an application only for completeness and obvious 
     inaccuracies. Unless the Secretary of Labor finds that the 
     application is incomplete or obviously inaccurate, the 
     Secretary of Labor shall certify that the intending employer 
     has filed with the Secretary of Labor an application as 
     described in subsection (a). Such certification shall be 
     provided within 7 days of the filing of the application.


                     ``H-2A EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

       ``Sec. 218A. (a) Preferential Treatment of Aliens 
     Prohibited.--Employers seeking to hire United States workers 
     shall offer the United States workers no less than the same 
     benefits, wages, and working conditions that the employer is 
     offering, intends to offer, or will provide to H-2A workers. 
     Conversely, no job offer may impose on United States workers 
     any restrictions or obligations which will not be imposed on 
     the employer's H-2A workers.
       ``(b) Minimum Benefits, Wages, and Working Conditions.--
     Except in cases where higher benefits, wages, or working 
     conditions are required by the provisions of subsection (a), 
     in order to protect similarly employed United States workers 
     from adverse effects with respect to benefits, wages, and 
     working conditions, every job offer which shall accompany an 
     application under section 218(b)(2) shall include each of the 
     following benefit, wage, and working condition provisions:
       ``(1) Requirement to provide housing or a housing 
     allowance.--
       ``(A) In general.--An employer applying under section 
     218(a) for H-2A workers shall offer to provide housing at no 
     cost to all workers in job opportunities for which the 
     employer has applied under that section and to all other 
     workers in the same occupation at the place of employment, 
     whose place of residence is beyond normal commuting distance.
       ``(B) Type of housing.--In complying with subparagraph (A), 
     an employer may, at the employer's election, provide housing 
     that meets applicable Federal standards for temporary labor 
     camps or secure housing that meets applicable local standards 
     for rental or public accommodation housing or other 
     substantially similar class of habitation, or in the absence 
     of applicable local standards, State standards for rental or 
     public accommodation housing or other substantially similar 
     class of habitation. In the absence of applicable local or 
     State standards, Federal temporary labor camp standards shall 
     apply.
       ``(C) Family housing.--When it is the prevailing practice 
     in the occupation and area of intended employment to provide 
     family housing, family housing shall be provided to workers 
     with families who request it.
       ``(D) Workers engaged in the range production of 
     livestock.--The Secretary of Labor shall issue regulations 
     that address the specific requirements for the provision of 
     housing to workers engaged in the range production of 
     livestock.
       ``(E) Limitation.--Nothing in this paragraph shall be 
     construed to require an employer to provide or secure housing 
     for persons who were not entitled to such housing under the 
     temporary labor certification regulations in effect on June 
     1, 1986.
       ``(F) Charges for housing.--
       ``(i) Charges for public housing.--If public housing 
     provided for migrant agricultural workers under the auspices 
     of a local, county, or State government is secured by an 
     employer, and use of the public housing unit normally 
     requires charges from migrant workers, such charges shall be 
     paid by the employer directly to the appropriate individual 
     or entity affiliated with the housing's management.
       ``(ii) Deposit charges.--Charges in the form of deposits 
     for bedding or other similar incidentals related to housing 
     shall not be levied upon workers by employers who provide 
     housing for their workers. An employer may require a worker 
     found to have been responsible for damage to such housing 
     which is not the result of normal wear and tear related to 
     habitation to reimburse the employer for the reasonable cost 
     of repair of such damage.
       ``(G) Housing allowance as alternative.--
       ``(i) In general.--If the requirement under clause (ii) is 
     satisfied, the employer may provide a reasonable housing 
     allowance instead of offering housing under subparagraph (A). 
     Upon the request of a worker seeking assistance in locating 
     housing, the employer shall make a good faith effort to 
     assist the worker in identifying and locating housing in the 
     area of intended employment. An employer who offers a housing 
     allowance to a worker, or assists a worker in locating 
     housing which the worker occupies, pursuant to this clause 
     shall not be deemed a housing provider under section 203 of 
     the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act 
     (29 U.S.C. 1823) solely by virtue of providing such housing 
     allowance. No housing allowance may be used for housing which 
     is owned or controlled by the employer.
       ``(ii) Certification.--The requirement of this clause is 
     satisfied if the Governor of the

[[Page 6641]]

     State certifies to the Secretary of Labor that there is 
     adequate housing available in the area of intended employment 
     for migrant farm workers, and H-2A workers, who are seeking 
     temporary housing while employed at farm work. Such 
     certification shall expire after 3 years unless renewed by 
     the Governor of the State.
       ``(iii) Amount of allowance.--

       ``(I) Nonmetropolitan counties.--If the place of employment 
     of the workers provided an allowance under this subparagraph 
     is a nonmetropolitan county, the amount of the housing 
     allowance under this subparagraph shall be equal to the 
     statewide average fair market rental for existing housing for 
     nonmetropolitan counties for the State, as established by the 
     Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to 
     section 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C. 1437f(c)), based on a 2 bedroom dwelling unit and an 
     assumption of 2 persons per bedroom.
       ``(II) Metropolitan counties.--If the place of employment 
     of the workers provided an allowance under this paragraph is 
     in a metropolitan county, the amount of the housing allowance 
     under this subparagraph shall be equal to the statewide 
     average fair market rental for existing housing for 
     metropolitan counties for the State, as established by the 
     Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to 
     section 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C. 1437f(c)), based on a 2-bedroom dwelling unit and an 
     assumption of 2 persons per bedroom.

       ``(2) Reimbursement of transportation.--
       ``(A) To place of employment.--A worker who completes 50 
     percent of the period of employment of the job opportunity 
     for which the worker was hired shall be reimbursed by the 
     employer for the cost of the worker's transportation and 
     subsistence from the place from which the worker came to work 
     for the employer (or place of last employment, if the worker 
     traveled from such place) to the place of employment.
       ``(B) From place of employment.--A worker who completes the 
     period of employment for the job opportunity involved shall 
     be reimbursed by the employer for the cost of the worker's 
     transportation and subsistence from the place of employment 
     to the place from which the worker, disregarding intervening 
     employment, came to work for the employer, or to the place of 
     next employment, if the worker has contracted with a 
     subsequent employer who has not agreed to provide or pay for 
     the worker's transportation and subsistence to such 
     subsequent employer's place of employment.
       ``(C) Limitation.--
       ``(i) Amount of reimbursement.--Except as provided in 
     clause (ii), the amount of reimbursement provided under 
     subparagraph (A) or (B) to a worker or alien shall not exceed 
     the lesser of--

       ``(I) the actual cost to the worker or alien of the 
     transportation and subsistence involved; or
       ``(II) the most economical and reasonable common carrier 
     transportation charges and subsistence costs for the distance 
     involved.

       ``(ii) Distance traveled.--No reimbursement under 
     subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be required if the distance 
     traveled is 100 miles or less, or the worker is not residing 
     in employer-provided housing or housing secured through an 
     allowance as provided in paragraph (1)(G).
       ``(D) Early termination.--If the worker is laid off or 
     employment is terminated for contract impossibility (as 
     described in paragraph (4)(D)) before the anticipated ending 
     date of employment, the employer shall provide the 
     transportation and subsistence required by subparagraph (B) 
     and, notwithstanding whether the worker has completed 50 
     percent of the period of employment, shall provide the 
     transportation reimbursement required by subparagraph (A).
       ``(E) Transportation between living quarters and work 
     site.--The employer shall provide transportation between the 
     worker's living quarters and the employer's work site without 
     cost to the worker, and such transportation will be in 
     accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
       ``(3) Required wages.--
       ``(A) In general.--An employer applying for workers under 
     section 218(a) shall offer to pay, and shall pay, all workers 
     in the occupation for which the employer has applied for 
     workers, not less (and is not required to pay more) than the 
     greater of the prevailing wage in the occupation in the area 
     of intended employment or the adverse effect wage rate. No 
     worker shall be paid less than the greater of the hourly wage 
     prescribed under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards 
     Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) or the applicable State 
     minimum wage.
       ``(B) Limitation.--Effective on the date of enactment of 
     the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act 
     of 2005 and continuing for 3 years thereafter, no adverse 
     effect wage rate for a State may be more than the adverse 
     effect wage rate for that State in effect on January 1, 2003, 
     as established by section 655.107 of title 20, Code of 
     Federal Regulations.
       ``(C) Required wages after 3-year freeze.--
       ``(i) First adjustment.--If Congress does not set a new 
     wage standard applicable to this section before the first 
     March 1 that is not less than 3 years after the date of 
     enactment of this section, the adverse effect wage rate for 
     each State beginning on such March 1 shall be the wage rate 
     that would have resulted if the adverse effect wage rate in 
     effect on January 1, 2003, had been annually adjusted, 
     beginning on March 1, 2006, by the lesser of--

       ``(I) the 12 month percentage change in the Consumer Price 
     Index for All Urban Consumers between December of the second 
     preceding year and December of the preceding year; and
       ``(II) 4 percent.

       ``(ii) Subsequent annual adjustments.--Beginning on the 
     first March 1 that is not less than 4 years after the date of 
     enactment of this section, and each March 1 thereafter, the 
     adverse effect wage rate then in effect for each State shall 
     be adjusted by the lesser of--

       ``(I) the 12 month percentage change in the Consumer Price 
     Index for All Urban Consumers between December of the second 
     preceding year and December of the preceding year; and
       ``(II) 4 percent.

       ``(D) Deductions.--The employer shall make only those 
     deductions from the worker's wages that are authorized by law 
     or are reasonable and customary in the occupation and area of 
     employment. The job offer shall specify all deductions not 
     required by law which the employer will make from the 
     worker's wages.
       ``(E) Frequency of pay.--The employer shall pay the worker 
     not less frequently than twice monthly, or in accordance with 
     the prevailing practice in the area of employment, whichever 
     is more frequent.
       ``(F) Hours and earnings statements.--The employer shall 
     furnish to the worker, on or before each payday, in 1 or more 
     written statements--
       ``(i) the worker's total earnings for the pay period;
       ``(ii) the worker's hourly rate of pay, piece rate of pay, 
     or both;
       ``(iii) the hours of employment which have been offered to 
     the worker (broken out by hours offered in accordance with 
     and over and above the three-quarters guarantee described in 
     paragraph (4);
       ``(iv) the hours actually worked by the worker;
       ``(v) an itemization of the deductions made from the 
     worker's wages; and
       ``(vi) if piece rates of pay are used, the units produced 
     daily.
       ``(G) Report on wage protections.--Not later than June 1, 
     2007, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
     prepare and transmit to the Secretary of Labor, the Committee 
     on the Judiciary of the Senate, and Committee on the 
     Judiciary of the House of Representatives, a report that 
     addresses--
       ``(i) whether the employment of H-2A or unauthorized aliens 
     in the United States agricultural work force has depressed 
     United States farm worker wages below the levels that would 
     otherwise have prevailed if alien farm workers had not been 
     employed in the United States;
       ``(ii) whether an adverse effect wage rate is necessary to 
     prevent wages of United States farm workers in occupations in 
     which H-2A workers are employed from falling below the wage 
     levels that would have prevailed in the absence of the 
     employment of H-2A workers in those occupations;
       ``(iii) whether alternative wage standards, such as a 
     prevailing wage standard, would be sufficient to prevent 
     wages in occupations in which H-2A workers are employed from 
     falling below the wage level that would have prevailed in the 
     absence of H-2A employment;
       ``(iv) whether any changes are warranted in the current 
     methodologies for calculating the adverse effect wage rate 
     and the prevailing wage; and
       ``(v) recommendations for future wage protection under this 
     section.
       ``(H) Commission on wage standards.--
       ``(i) Establishment.--There is established the Commission 
     on Agricultural Wage Standards under the H-2A program (in 
     this subparagraph referred to as the `Commission').
       ``(ii) Composition.--The Commission shall consist of 10 
     members as follows:

       ``(I) 4 representatives of agricultural employers and 1 
     representative of the Department of Agriculture, each 
     appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
       ``(II) 4 representatives of agricultural workers and 1 
     representative of the Department of Labor, each appointed by 
     the Secretary of Labor.

       ``(iii) Functions.--The Commission shall conduct a study 
     that shall address--

       ``(I) whether the employment of H-2A or unauthorized aliens 
     in the United States agricultural workforce has depressed 
     United States farm worker wages below the levels that would 
     otherwise have prevailed if alien farm workers had not been 
     employed in the United States;
       ``(II) whether an adverse effect wage rate is necessary to 
     prevent wages of United States farm workers in occupations in 
     which H-2A workers are employed from falling below the wage 
     levels that would have prevailed in the absence of the 
     employment of H-2A workers in those occupations;
       ``(III) whether alternative wage standards, such as a 
     prevailing wage standard, would be

[[Page 6642]]

     sufficient to prevent wages in occupations in which H-2A 
     workers are employed from falling below the wage level that 
     would have prevailed in the absence of H-2A employment;
       ``(IV) whether any changes are warranted in the current 
     methodologies for calculating the adverse effect wage rate 
     and the prevailing wage rate; and
       ``(V) recommendations for future wage protection under this 
     section.

       ``(iv) Final report.--Not later than June 1, 2007, the 
     Commission shall submit a report to the Congress setting 
     forth the findings of the study conducted under clause (iii).
       ``(v) Termination date.--The Commission shall terminate 
     upon submitting its final report.
       ``(4) Guarantee of employment.--
       ``(A) Offer to worker.--The employer shall guarantee to 
     offer the worker employment for the hourly equivalent of at 
     least three-fourths of the work days of the total period of 
     employment, beginning with the first work day after the 
     arrival of the worker at the place of employment and ending 
     on the expiration date specified in the job offer. For 
     purposes of this subparagraph, the hourly equivalent means 
     the number of hours in the work days as stated in the job 
     offer and shall exclude the worker's Sabbath and Federal 
     holidays. If the employer affords the United States or H-2A 
     worker less employment than that required under this 
     paragraph, the employer shall pay such worker the amount 
     which the worker would have earned had the worker, in fact, 
     worked for the guaranteed number of hours.
       ``(B) Failure to work.--Any hours which the worker fails to 
     work, up to a maximum of the number of hours specified in the 
     job offer for a work day, when the worker has been offered an 
     opportunity to do so, and all hours of work actually 
     performed (including voluntary work in excess of the number 
     of hours specified in the job offer in a work day, on the 
     worker's Sabbath, or on Federal holidays) may be counted by 
     the employer in calculating whether the period of guaranteed 
     employment has been met.
       ``(C) Abandonment of employment, termination for cause.--If 
     the worker voluntarily abandons employment before the end of 
     the contract period, or is terminated for cause, the worker 
     is not entitled to the `three-fourths guarantee' described in 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(D) Contract impossibility.--If, before the expiration of 
     the period of employment specified in the job offer, the 
     services of the worker are no longer required for reasons 
     beyond the control of the employer due to any form of natural 
     disaster, including but not limited to a flood, hurricane, 
     freeze, earthquake, fire, drought, plant or animal disease or 
     pest infestation, or regulatory drought, before the guarantee 
     in subparagraph (A) is fulfilled, the employer may terminate 
     the worker's employment. In the event of such termination, 
     the employer shall fulfill the employment guarantee in 
     subparagraph (A) for the work days that have elapsed from the 
     first work day after the arrival of the worker to the 
     termination of employment. In such cases, the employer will 
     make efforts to transfer the United States worker to other 
     comparable employment acceptable to the worker. If such 
     transfer is not effected, the employer shall provide the 
     return transportation required in paragraph (2)(D).
       ``(5) Motor vehicle safety.--
       ``(A) Mode of transportation subject to coverage.--
       ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in clauses (iii) and 
     (iv), this subsection applies to any H-2A employer that uses 
     or causes to be used any vehicle to transport an H-2A worker 
     within the United States.
       ``(ii) Defined term.--In this paragraph, the term `uses or 
     causes to be used'--

       ``(I) applies only to transportation provided by an H-2A 
     employer to an H-2A worker, or by a farm labor contractor to 
     an H-2A worker at the request or direction of an H-2A 
     employer; and
       ``(II) does not apply to--

       ``(aa) transportation provided, or transportation 
     arrangements made, by an H-2A worker, unless the employer 
     specifically requested or arranged such transportation; or
       ``(bb) car pooling arrangements made by H-2A workers 
     themselves, using 1 of the workers' own vehicles, unless 
     specifically requested by the employer directly or through a 
     farm labor contractor.
       ``(iii) Clarification.--Providing a job offer to an H-2A 
     worker that causes the worker to travel to or from the place 
     of employment, or the payment or reimbursement of the 
     transportation costs of an H-2A worker by an H-2A employer, 
     shall not constitute an arrangement of, or participation in, 
     such transportation.
       ``(iv) Agricultural machinery and equipment excluded.--This 
     subsection does not apply to the transportation of an H-2A 
     worker on a tractor, combine, harvester, picker, or other 
     similar machinery or equipment while such worker is actually 
     engaged in the planting, cultivating, or harvesting of 
     agricultural commodities or the care of livestock or poultry 
     or engaged in transportation incidental thereto.
       ``(v) Common carriers excluded.--This subsection does not 
     apply to common carrier motor vehicle transportation in which 
     the provider holds itself out to the general public as 
     engaging in the transportation of passengers for hire and 
     holds a valid certification of authorization for such 
     purposes from an appropriate Federal, State, or local agency.
       ``(B) Applicability of standards, licensing, and insurance 
     requirements.--
       ``(i) In general.--When using, or causing to be used, any 
     vehicle for the purpose of providing transportation to which 
     this subparagraph applies, each employer shall--

       ``(I) ensure that each such vehicle conforms to the 
     standards prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under section 
     401(b) of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 
     Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1841(b)) and other applicable 
     Federal and State safety standards;
       ``(II) ensure that each driver has a valid and appropriate 
     license, as provided by State law, to operate the vehicle; 
     and
       ``(III) have an insurance policy or a liability bond that 
     is in effect which insures the employer against liability for 
     damage to persons or property arising from the ownership, 
     operation, or causing to be operated, of any vehicle used to 
     transport any H-2A worker.

       ``(ii) Amount of insurance required.--The level of 
     insurance required shall be determined by the Secretary of 
     Labor pursuant to regulations to be issued under this 
     subsection.
       ``(iii) Effect of workers' compensation coverage.--If the 
     employer of any H-2A worker provides workers' compensation 
     coverage for such worker in the case of bodily injury or 
     death as provided by State law, the following adjustments in 
     the requirements of subparagraph (B)(i)(III) relating to 
     having an insurance policy or liability bond apply:

       ``(I) No insurance policy or liability bond shall be 
     required of the employer, if such workers are transported 
     only under circumstances for which there is coverage under 
     such State law.
       ``(II) An insurance policy or liability bond shall be 
     required of the employer for circumstances under which 
     coverage for the transportation of such workers is not 
     provided under such State law.

       ``(c) Compliance With Labor Laws.--An employer shall assure 
     that, except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
     employer will comply with all applicable Federal, State, and 
     local labor laws, including laws affecting migrant and 
     seasonal agricultural workers, with respect to all United 
     States workers and alien workers employed by the employer, 
     except that a violation of this assurance shall not 
     constitute a violation of the Migrant and Seasonal 
     Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
       ``(d) Copy of Job Offer.--The employer shall provide to the 
     worker, not later than the day the work commences, a copy of 
     the employer's application and job offer described in section 
     218(a), or, if the employer will require the worker to enter 
     into a separate employment contract covering the employment 
     in question, such separate employment contract.
       ``(e) Range Production of Livestock.--Nothing in this 
     section, section 218, or section 218B shall preclude the 
     Secretary of Labor and the Secretary from continuing to apply 
     special procedures and requirements to the admission and 
     employment of aliens in occupations involving the range 
     production of livestock.


    ``PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION AND EXTENSION OF STAY OF H-2A WORKERS

       ``Sec. 218B. (a) Petitioning for Admission.--An employer, 
     or an association acting as an agent or joint employer for 
     its members, that seeks the admission into the United States 
     of an H-2A worker may file a petition with the Secretary. The 
     petition shall be accompanied by an accepted and currently 
     valid certification provided by the Secretary of Labor under 
     section 218(e)(2)(B) covering the petitioner.
       ``(b) Expedited Adjudication by the Secretary.--The 
     Secretary shall establish a procedure for expedited 
     adjudication of petitions filed under subsection (a) and 
     within 7 working days shall, by fax, cable, or other means 
     assuring expedited delivery, transmit a copy of notice of 
     action on the petition to the petitioner and, in the case of 
     approved petitions, to the appropriate immigration officer at 
     the port of entry or United States consulate (as the case may 
     be) where the petitioner has indicated that the alien 
     beneficiary (or beneficiaries) will apply for a visa or 
     admission to the United States.
       ``(c) Criteria for Admissibility.--
       ``(1) In general.--An H-2A worker shall be considered 
     admissible to the United States if the alien is otherwise 
     admissible under this section, section 218, and section 218A, 
     and the alien is not ineligible under paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Disqualification.--An alien shall be considered 
     inadmissible to the United States and ineligible for 
     nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the 
     alien has, at any time during the past 5 years--
       ``(A) violated a material provision of this section, 
     including the requirement to promptly depart the United 
     States when the alien's authorized period of admission under 
     this section has expired; or
       ``(B) otherwise violated a term or condition of admission 
     into the United States as a nonimmigrant, including 
     overstaying the period

[[Page 6643]]

     of authorized admission as such a nonimmigrant.
       ``(3) Waiver of ineligibility for unlawful presence.--
       ``(A) In general.--An alien who has not previously been 
     admitted into the United States pursuant to this section, and 
     who is otherwise eligible for admission in accordance with 
     paragraphs (1) and (2), shall not be deemed inadmissible by 
     virtue of section 212(a)(9)(B). If an alien described in the 
     preceding sentence is present in the United States, the alien 
     may apply from abroad for H-2A status, but may not be granted 
     that status in the United States.
       ``(B) Maintenance of waiver.--An alien provided an initial 
     waiver of ineligibility pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 
     remain eligible for such waiver unless the alien violates the 
     terms of this section or again becomes ineligible under 
     section 212(a)(9)(B) by virtue of unlawful presence in the 
     United States after the date of the initial waiver of 
     ineligibility pursuant to subparagraph (A).
       ``(d) Period of Admission.--
       ``(1) In general.--The alien shall be admitted for the 
     period of employment in the application certified by the 
     Secretary of Labor pursuant to section 218(e)(2)(B), not to 
     exceed 10 months, supplemented by a period of not more than 1 
     week before the beginning of the period of employment for the 
     purpose of travel to the work site and a period of 14 days 
     following the period of employment for the purpose of 
     departure or extension based on a subsequent offer of 
     employment, except that--
       ``(A) the alien is not authorized to be employed during 
     such 14-day period except in the employment for which the 
     alien was previously authorized; and
       ``(B) the total period of employment, including such 14-day 
     period, may not exceed 10 months.
       ``(2) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall limit 
     the authority of the Secretary to extend the stay of the 
     alien under any other provision of this Act.
       ``(e) Abandonment of Employment.--
       ``(1) In general.--An alien admitted or provided status 
     under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) who abandons the 
     employment which was the basis for such admission or status 
     shall be considered to have failed to maintain nonimmigrant 
     status as an H-2A worker and shall depart the United States 
     or be subject to removal under section 237(a)(1)(C)(i).
       ``(2) Report by employer.--The employer, or association 
     acting as agent for the employer, shall notify the Secretary 
     not later than 7 days after an H-2A worker prematurely 
     abandons employment.
       ``(3) Removal by the secretary.--The Secretary shall 
     promptly remove from the United States any H-2A worker who 
     violates any term or condition of the worker's nonimmigrant 
     status.
       ``(4) Voluntary termination.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
     (1), an alien may voluntarily terminate his or her employment 
     if the alien promptly departs the United States upon 
     termination of such employment.
       ``(f) Replacement of Alien.--
       ``(1) In general.--Upon presentation of the notice to the 
     Secretary required by subsection (e)(2), the Secretary of 
     State shall promptly issue a visa to, and the Secretary shall 
     admit into the United States, an eligible alien designated by 
     the employer to replace an H-2A worker--
       ``(A) who abandons or prematurely terminates employment; or
       ``(B) whose employment is terminated after a United States 
     worker is employed pursuant to section 218(b)(2)(H)(iii), if 
     the United States worker voluntarily departs before the end 
     of the period of intended employment or if the employment 
     termination is for a lawful job-related reason.
       ``(2) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection is intended 
     to limit any preference required to be accorded United States 
     workers under any other provision of this Act.
       ``(g) Identification Document.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each alien authorized to be admitted 
     under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) shall be provided an 
     identification and employment eligibility document to verify 
     eligibility for employment in the United States and verify 
     such person's proper identity.
       ``(2) Requirements.--No identification and employment 
     eligibility document may be issued which does not meet the 
     following requirements:
       ``(A) The document shall be capable of reliably determining 
     whether--
       ``(i) the individual with the identification and employment 
     eligibility document whose eligibility is being verified is 
     in fact eligible for employment;
       ``(ii) the individual whose eligibility is being verified 
     is claiming the identity of another person; and
       ``(iii) the individual whose eligibility is being verified 
     is authorized to be admitted into, and employed in, the 
     United States as an H-2A worker.
       ``(B) The document shall be in a form that is resistant to 
     counterfeiting and to tampering.
       ``(C) The document shall--
       ``(i) be compatible with other databases of the Secretary 
     for the purpose of excluding aliens from benefits for which 
     they are not eligible and determining whether the alien is 
     unlawfully present in the United States; and
       ``(ii) be compatible with law enforcement databases to 
     determine if the alien has been convicted of criminal 
     offenses.
       ``(h) Extension of Stay of H-2A Aliens in the United 
     States.--
       ``(1) Extension of stay.--If an employer seeks approval to 
     employ an H-2A alien who is lawfully present in the United 
     States, the petition filed by the employer or an association 
     pursuant to subsection (a), shall request an extension of the 
     alien's stay and a change in the alien's employment.
       ``(2) Limitation on filing a petition for extension of 
     stay.--A petition may not be filed for an extension of an 
     alien's stay--
       ``(A) for a period of more than 10 months; or
       ``(B) to a date that is more than 3 years after the date of 
     the alien's last admission to the United States under this 
     section.
       ``(3) Work authorization upon filing a petition for 
     extension of stay.--
       ``(A) In general.--An alien who is lawfully present in the 
     United States may commence the employment described in a 
     petition under paragraph (1) on the date on which the 
     petition is filed.
       ``(B) Definition.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 
     term `file' means sending the petition by certified mail via 
     the United States Postal Service, return receipt requested, 
     or delivered by guaranteed commercial delivery which will 
     provide the employer with a documented acknowledgment of the 
     date of receipt of the petition.
       ``(C) Handling of petition.--The employer shall provide a 
     copy of the employer's petition to the alien, who shall keep 
     the petition with the alien's identification and employment 
     eligibility document as evidence that the petition has been 
     filed and that the alien is authorized to work in the United 
     States.
       ``(D) Approval of petition.--Upon approval of a petition 
     for an extension of stay or change in the alien's authorized 
     employment, the Secretary shall provide a new or updated 
     employment eligibility document to the alien indicating the 
     new validity date, after which the alien is not required to 
     retain a copy of the petition.
       ``(4) Limitation on employment authorization of aliens 
     without valid identification and employment eligibility 
     document.--An expired identification and employment 
     eligibility document, together with a copy of a petition for 
     extension of stay or change in the alien's authorized 
     employment that complies with the requirements of paragraph 
     (1), shall constitute a valid work authorization document for 
     a period of not more than 60 days beginning on the date on 
     which such petition is filed, after which time only a 
     currently valid identification and employment eligibility 
     document shall be acceptable.
       ``(5) Limitation on an individual's stay in status.--
       ``(A) Maximum period.--The maximum continuous period of 
     authorized status as an H-2A worker (including any 
     extensions) is 3 years.
       ``(B) Requirement to remain outside the united states.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), in the case of 
     an alien outside the United States whose period of authorized 
     status as an H-2A worker (including any extensions) has 
     expired, the alien may not again apply for admission to the 
     United States as an H-2A worker unless the alien has remained 
     outside the United States for a continuous period equal to at 
     least \1/5\ the duration of the alien's previous period of 
     authorized status as an H-2A worker (including any 
     extensions).
       ``(ii) Exception.--Clause (i) shall not apply in the case 
     of an alien if the alien's period of authorized status as an 
     H-2A worker (including any extensions) was for a period of 
     not more than 10 months and such alien has been outside the 
     United States for at least 2 months during the 12 months 
     preceding the date the alien again is applying for admission 
     to the United States as an H-2A worker.
       ``(i) Special Rules for Aliens Employed as Sheepherders.--
     Notwithstanding any provision of the Agricultural Job 
     Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2005, aliens 
     admitted under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) for employment as 
     sheepherders--
       ``(1) may be admitted for a period of 12 months;
       ``(2) may be extended for a continuous period of up to 3 
     years; and
       ``(3) shall not be subject to the requirements of 
     subsection (h)(5) relating to periods of absence from the 
     United States.


          ``WORKER PROTECTIONS AND LABOR STANDARDS ENFORCEMENT

       ``Sec. 218C. (a) Enforcement Authority.--
       ``(1) Investigation of complaints.--
       ``(A) Aggrieved person or third-party complaints.--The 
     Secretary of Labor shall establish a process for the receipt, 
     investigation, and disposition of complaints respecting a 
     petitioner's failure to meet a condition specified in section 
     218(b), or an employer's misrepresentation of material facts 
     in an application under section 218(a). Complaints may be 
     filed by any aggrieved person or organization (including 
     bargaining representatives). No investigation or hearing 
     shall be conducted on a complaint concerning such a failure 
     or misrepresentation unless the complaint was filed not later 
     than 12 months

[[Page 6644]]

     after the date of the failure, or misrepresentation, 
     respectively. The Secretary of Labor shall conduct an 
     investigation under this subparagraph if there is reasonable 
     cause to believe that such a failure or misrepresentation has 
     occurred.
       ``(B) Determination on complaint.--Under such process, the 
     Secretary of Labor shall provide, within 30 days after the 
     date such a complaint is filed, for a determination as to 
     whether or not a reasonable basis exists to make a finding 
     described in subparagraph (C), (D), (E), or (H). If the 
     Secretary of Labor determines that such a reasonable basis 
     exists, the Secretary of Labor shall provide for notice of 
     such determination to the interested parties and an 
     opportunity for a hearing on the complaint, in accordance 
     with section 556 of title 5, United States Code, within 60 
     days after the date of the determination. If such a hearing 
     is requested, the Secretary of Labor shall make a finding 
     concerning the matter not later than 60 days after the date 
     of the hearing. In the case of similar complaints respecting 
     the same applicant, the Secretary of Labor may consolidate 
     the hearings under this subparagraph on such complaints.
       ``(C) Failures to meet conditions.--If the Secretary of 
     Labor finds, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, a 
     failure to meet a condition of paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), 
     (1)(D), (1)(F), (2)(A), (2)(B), or (2)(G) of section 218(b), 
     a substantial failure to meet a condition of paragraph 
     (1)(C), (1)(E), (2)(C), (2)(D), (2)(E), or (2)(H) of section 
     218(b), or a material misrepresentation of fact in an 
     application under section 218(a)--
       ``(i) the Secretary of Labor shall notify the Secretary of 
     such finding and may, in addition, impose such other 
     administrative remedies (including civil money penalties in 
     an amount not to exceed $1,000 per violation) as the 
     Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate; and
       ``(ii) the Secretary may disqualify the employer from the 
     employment of aliens described in section 
     101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) for a period of 1 year.
       ``(D) Willful failures and willful misrepresentations.--If 
     the Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and opportunity 
     for hearing, a willful failure to meet a condition of section 
     218(b), a willful misrepresentation of a material fact in an 
     application under section 218(a), or a violation of 
     subsection (d)(1)--
       ``(i) the Secretary of Labor shall notify the Secretary of 
     such finding and may, in addition, impose such other 
     administrative remedies (including civil money penalties in 
     an amount not to exceed $5,000 per violation) as the 
     Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate;
       ``(ii) the Secretary of Labor may seek appropriate legal or 
     equitable relief to effectuate the purposes of subsection 
     (d)(1); and
       ``(iii) the Secretary may disqualify the employer from the 
     employment of H-2A workers for a period of 2 years.
       ``(E) Displacement of united states workers.--If the 
     Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and opportunity for 
     hearing, a willful failure to meet a condition of section 
     218(b) or a willful misrepresentation of a material fact in 
     an application under section 218(a), in the course of which 
     failure or misrepresentation the employer displaced a United 
     States worker employed by the employer during the period of 
     employment on the employer's application under section 218(a) 
     or during the period of 30 days preceding such period of 
     employment--
       ``(i) the Secretary of Labor shall notify the Secretary of 
     such finding and may, in addition, impose such other 
     administrative remedies (including civil money penalties in 
     an amount not to exceed $15,000 per violation) as the 
     Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate; and
       ``(ii) the Secretary may disqualify the employer from the 
     employment of H-2A workers for a period of 3 years.
       ``(F) Limitations on civil money penalties.--The Secretary 
     of Labor shall not impose total civil money penalties with 
     respect to an application under section 218(a) in excess of 
     $90,000.
       ``(G) Failures to pay wages or required benefits.--If the 
     Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and opportunity for a 
     hearing, that the employer has failed to pay the wages, or 
     provide the housing allowance, transportation, subsistence 
     reimbursement, or guarantee of employment, required under 
     section 218A(b), the Secretary of Labor shall assess payment 
     of back wages, or other required benefits, due any United 
     States worker or H-2A worker employed by the employer in the 
     specific employment in question. The back wages or other 
     required benefits under section 218A(b) shall be equal to the 
     difference between the amount that should have been paid and 
     the amount that actually was paid to such worker.
       ``(2) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary 
     of Labor to conduct any compliance investigation under any 
     other labor law, including any law affecting migrant and 
     seasonal agricultural workers, or, in the absence of a 
     complaint under this section, under section 218 or 218A.
       ``(b) Rights Enforceable by Private Right of Action.--H-2A 
     workers may enforce the following rights through the private 
     right of action provided in subsection (c), and no other 
     right of action shall exist under Federal or State law to 
     enforce such rights:
       ``(1) The providing of housing or a housing allowance as 
     required under section 218A(b)(1).
       ``(2) The reimbursement of transportation as required under 
     section 218A(b)(2).
       ``(3) The payment of wages required under section 
     218A(b)(3) when due.
       ``(4) The benefits and material terms and conditions of 
     employment expressly provided in the job offer described in 
     section 218(a)(2), not including the assurance to comply with 
     other Federal, State, and local labor laws described in 
     section 218A(c), compliance with which shall be governed by 
     the provisions of such laws.
       ``(5) The guarantee of employment required under section 
     218A(b)(4).
       ``(6) The motor vehicle safety requirements under section 
     218A(b)(5).
       ``(7) The prohibition of discrimination under subsection 
     (d)(2).
       ``(c) Private Right of Action.--
       ``(1) Mediation.--Upon the filing of a complaint by an H-2A 
     worker aggrieved by a violation of rights enforceable under 
     subsection (b), and within 60 days of the filing of proof of 
     service of the complaint, a party to the action may file a 
     request with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 
     to assist the parties in reaching a satisfactory resolution 
     of all issues involving all parties to the dispute. Upon a 
     filing of such request and giving of notice to the parties, 
     the parties shall attempt mediation within the period 
     specified in subparagraph (B).
       ``(A) Mediation services.--The Federal Mediation and 
     Conciliation Service shall be available to assist in 
     resolving disputes arising under subsection (b) between H-2A 
     workers and agricultural employers without charge to the 
     parties.
       ``(B) 90-day limit.--The Federal Mediation and Conciliation 
     Service may conduct mediation or other non-binding dispute 
     resolution activities for a period not to exceed 90 days 
     beginning on the date on which the Federal Mediation and 
     Conciliation Service receives the request for assistance 
     unless the parties agree to an extension of this period of 
     time.
       ``(C) Authorization.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Mediation and 
     Conciliation Service $500,000 for each fiscal year to carry 
     out this section.
       ``(ii) Mediation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 
     Service is authorized to conduct the mediation or other 
     dispute resolution activities from any other appropriated 
     funds available to the Director and to reimburse such 
     appropriated funds when the funds are appropriated pursuant 
     to this authorization, such reimbursement to be credited to 
     appropriations currently available at the time of receipt.
       ``(2) Maintenance of civil action in district court by 
     aggrieved person.--An H-2A worker aggrieved by a violation of 
     rights enforceable under subsection (b) by an agricultural 
     employer or other person may file suit in any district court 
     of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties, 
     without regard to the amount in controversy, without regard 
     to the citizenship of the parties, and without regard to the 
     exhaustion of any alternative administrative remedies under 
     this Act, not later than 3 years after the date the violation 
     occurs.
       ``(3) Election.--An H-2A worker who has filed an 
     administrative complaint with the Secretary of Labor may not 
     maintain a civil action under paragraph (2) unless a 
     complaint based on the same violation filed with the 
     Secretary of Labor under subsection (a)(1) is withdrawn 
     before the filing of such action, in which case the rights 
     and remedies available under this subsection shall be 
     exclusive.
       ``(4) Preemption of state contract rights.--Nothing in this 
     Act shall be construed to diminish the rights and remedies of 
     an H-2A worker under any other Federal or State law or 
     regulation or under any collective bargaining agreement, 
     except that no court or administrative action shall be 
     available under any State contract law to enforce the rights 
     created by this Act.
       ``(5) Waiver of rights prohibited.--Agreements by employees 
     purporting to waive or modify their rights under this Act 
     shall be void as contrary to public policy, except that a 
     waiver or modification of the rights or obligations in favor 
     of the Secretary of Labor shall be valid for purposes of the 
     enforcement of this Act. The preceding sentence may not be 
     construed to prohibit agreements to settle private disputes 
     or litigation.
       ``(6) Award of damages or other equitable relief.--
       ``(A) If the court finds that the respondent has 
     intentionally violated any of the rights enforceable under 
     subsection (b), it shall award actual damages, if any, or 
     equitable relief.
       ``(B) Any civil action brought under this section shall be 
     subject to appeal as provided in chapter 83 of title 28, 
     United States Code.
       ``(7) Workers' compensation benefits; exclusive remedy.--
       ``(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, 
     where a State's workers' compensation law is applicable and 
     coverage

[[Page 6645]]

     is provided for an H-2A worker, the workers' compensation 
     benefits shall be the exclusive remedy for the loss of such 
     worker under this section in the case of bodily injury or 
     death in accordance with such State's workers' compensation 
     law.
       ``(B) The exclusive remedy prescribed in subparagraph (A) 
     precludes the recovery under paragraph (6) of actual damages 
     for loss from an injury or death but does not preclude other 
     equitable relief, except that such relief shall not include 
     back or front pay or in any manner, directly or indirectly, 
     expand or otherwise alter or affect--
       ``(i) a recovery under a State workers' compensation law; 
     or
       ``(ii) rights conferred under a State workers' compensation 
     law.
       ``(8) Tolling of statute of limitations.--If it is 
     determined under a State workers' compensation law that the 
     workers' compensation law is not applicable to a claim for 
     bodily injury or death of an H-2A worker, the statute of 
     limitations for bringing an action for actual damages for 
     such injury or death under subsection (c) shall be tolled for 
     the period during which the claim for such injury or death 
     under such State workers' compensation law was pending. The 
     statute of limitations for an action for actual damages or 
     other equitable relief arising out of the same transaction or 
     occurrence as the injury or death of the H-2A worker shall be 
     tolled for the period during which the claim for such injury 
     or death was pending under the State workers' compensation 
     law.
       ``(9) Preclusive effect.--Any settlement by an H-2A worker 
     and H-2A employer reached through the mediation process 
     required under subsection (c)(1) shall preclude any right of 
     action arising out of the same facts between the parties in 
     any Federal or State court or administrative proceeding, 
     unless specifically provided otherwise in the settlement 
     agreement.
       ``(10) Settlements.--Any settlement by the Secretary of 
     Labor with an H-2A employer on behalf of an H-2A worker of a 
     complaint filed with the Secretary of Labor under this 
     section or any finding by the Secretary of Labor under 
     subsection (a)(1)(B) shall preclude any right of action 
     arising out of the same facts between the parties under any 
     Federal or State court or administrative proceeding, unless 
     specifically provided otherwise in the settlement agreement.
       ``(d) Discrimination Prohibited.--
       ``(1) In general.--It is a violation of this subsection for 
     any person who has filed an application under section 218(a), 
     to intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, 
     discharge, or in any other manner discriminate against an 
     employee (which term, for purposes of this subsection, 
     includes a former employee and an applicant for employment) 
     because the employee has disclosed information to the 
     employer, or to any other person, that the employee 
     reasonably believes evidences a violation of section 218 or 
     218A or any rule or regulation pertaining to section 218 or 
     218A, or because the employee cooperates or seeks to 
     cooperate in an investigation or other proceeding concerning 
     the employer's compliance with the requirements of section 
     218 or 218A or any rule or regulation pertaining to either of 
     such sections.
       ``(2) Discrimination against h-2a workers.--It is a 
     violation of this subsection for any person who has filed an 
     application under section 218(a), to intimidate, threaten, 
     restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in any manner 
     discriminate against an H-2A employee because such worker 
     has, with just cause, filed a complaint with the Secretary of 
     Labor regarding a denial of the rights enumerated and 
     enforceable under subsection (b) or instituted, or caused to 
     be instituted, a private right of action under subsection (c) 
     regarding the denial of the rights enumerated under 
     subsection (b), or has testified or is about to testify in 
     any court proceeding brought under subsection (c).
       ``(e) Authorization To Seek Other Appropriate Employment.--
     The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary shall establish a 
     process under which an H-2A worker who files a complaint 
     regarding a violation of subsection (d) and is otherwise 
     eligible to remain and work in the United States may be 
     allowed to seek other appropriate employment in the United 
     States for a period not to exceed the maximum period of stay 
     authorized for such nonimmigrant classification.
       ``(f) Role of Associations.--
       ``(1) Violation by a member of an association.--An employer 
     on whose behalf an application is filed by an association 
     acting as its agent is fully responsible for such 
     application, and for complying with the terms and conditions 
     of sections 218 and 218A, as though the employer had filed 
     the application itself. If such an employer is determined, 
     under this section, to have committed a violation, the 
     penalty for such violation shall apply only to that member of 
     the association unless the Secretary of Labor determines that 
     the association or other member participated in, had 
     knowledge, or reason to know, of the violation, in which case 
     the penalty shall be invoked against the association or other 
     association member as well.
       ``(2) Violations by an association acting as an employer.--
     If an association filing an application as a sole or joint 
     employer is determined to have committed a violation under 
     this section, the penalty for such violation shall apply only 
     to the association unless the Secretary of Labor determines 
     that an association member or members participated in or had 
     knowledge, or reason to know of the violation, in which case 
     the penalty shall be invoked against the association member 
     or members as well.


                             ``DEFINITIONS

       ``Sec. 218D. For purposes of sections 218 through 218D:
       ``(1) Agricultural employment.--The term `agricultural 
     employment' means any service or activity that is considered 
     to be agricultural under section 3(f) of the Fair Labor 
     Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)) or agricultural 
     labor under section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 (26 U.S.C. 3121(g)). For purposes of this paragraph, 
     agricultural employment includes employment under section 
     101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
       ``(2) Bona fide union.--The term `bona fide union' means 
     any organization in which employees participate and which 
     exists for the purpose of dealing with employers concerning 
     grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of 
     employment, or other terms and conditions of work for 
     agricultural employees. Such term does not include an 
     organization formed, created, administered, supported, 
     dominated, financed, or controlled by an employer or employer 
     association or its agents or representatives.
       ``(3) Displace.--The term `displace', in the case of an 
     application with respect to 1 or more H-2A workers by an 
     employer, means laying off a United States worker from a job 
     for which the H-2A worker or workers is or are sought.
       ``(4) Eligible.--The term `eligible', when used with 
     respect to an individual, means an individual who is not an 
     unauthorized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3)).
       ``(5) Employer.--The term `employer' means any person or 
     entity, including any farm labor contractor and any 
     agricultural association, that employs workers in 
     agricultural employment.
       ``(6) H-2a employer.--The term `H-2A employer' means an 
     employer who seeks to hire 1 or more nonimmigrant aliens 
     described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
       ``(7) H-2a worker.--The term `H-2A worker' means a 
     nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).
       ``(8) Job opportunity.--The term `job opportunity' means a 
     job opening for temporary full-time employment at a place in 
     the United States to which United States workers can be 
     referred.
       ``(9) Lays off.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `lays off', with respect to a 
     worker--
       ``(i) means to cause the worker's loss of employment, other 
     than through a discharge for inadequate performance, 
     violation of workplace rules, cause, voluntary departure, 
     voluntary retirement, contract impossibility (as described in 
     section 218A(b)(4)(D)), or temporary layoffs due to weather, 
     markets, or other temporary conditions; but
       ``(ii) does not include any situation in which the worker 
     is offered, as an alternative to such loss of employment, a 
     similar employment opportunity with the same employer (or, in 
     the case of a placement of a worker with another employer 
     under section 218(b)(2)(E), with either employer described in 
     such section) at equivalent or higher compensation and 
     benefits than the position from which the employee was 
     discharged, regardless of whether or not the employee accepts 
     the offer.
       ``(B) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this paragraph is 
     intended to limit an employee's rights under a collective 
     bargaining agreement or other employment contract.
       ``(10) Regulatory drought.--The term `regulatory drought' 
     means a decision subsequent to the filing of the application 
     under section 218 by an entity not under the control of the 
     employer making such filing which restricts the employer's 
     access to water for irrigation purposes and reduces or limits 
     the employer's ability to produce an agricultural commodity, 
     thereby reducing the need for labor.
       ``(11) Seasonal.--Labor is performed on a `seasonal' basis 
     if--
       ``(A) ordinarily, it pertains to or is of the kind 
     exclusively performed at certain seasons or periods of the 
     year; and
       ``(B) from its nature, it may not be continuous or carried 
     on throughout the year.
       ``(12) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Homeland Security.
       ``(13) Temporary.--A worker is employed on a `temporary' 
     basis where the employment is intended not to exceed 10 
     months.
       ``(14) United states worker.--The term `United States 
     worker' means any worker, whether a United States citizen or 
     national, a lawfully admitted permanent resident alien, or 
     any other alien, who is authorized to work in the job 
     opportunity within the United States, except an alien 
     admitted or otherwise provided status under section 
     101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a).''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 
     amended by striking the item relating to section 218 and 
     inserting the following:

``Sec. 218 H-2A employer applications.
``Sec. 218A H-2A employment requirements.

[[Page 6646]]

``Sec. 218B Procedure for admission and extension of stay of H-2A 
              workers.
``Sec. 218C Worker protections and labor standards enforcement.
``Sec. 218D Definitions.''.

                  Subtitle C--Miscellaneous Provisions

     SEC. 731. DETERMINATION AND USE OF USER FEES.

       (a) Schedule of Fees.--The Secretary shall establish and 
     periodically adjust a schedule of fees for the employment of 
     aliens under this title and the amendments made by this 
     title, and a collection process for such fees from employers 
     participating in the program provided under this Act. Such 
     fees shall be the only fees chargeable to employers for 
     services provided under this Act.
       (b) Determination of Schedule.--
       (1) In general.--The schedule under subsection (a) shall 
     reflect a fee rate based on the number of job opportunities 
     indicated in the employer's application under section 218 of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 721 
     of this Act, and sufficient to provide for the direct costs 
     of providing services related to an employer's authorization 
     to employ eligible aliens pursuant to this Act, to include 
     the certification of eligible employers, the issuance of 
     documentation, and the admission of eligible aliens.
       (2) Procedure.--
       (A) In general.--In establishing and adjusting such a 
     schedule, the Secretary shall comply with Federal cost 
     accounting and fee setting standards.
       (B) Publication and comment.--The Secretary shall publish 
     in the Federal Register an initial fee schedule and 
     associated collection process and the cost data or estimates 
     upon which such fee schedule is based, and any subsequent 
     amendments thereto, pursuant to which public comment shall be 
     sought and a final rule issued.
       (c) Use of Proceeds.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
     of law, all proceeds resulting from the payment of the alien 
     employment user fees shall be available without further 
     appropriation and shall remain available without fiscal year 
     limitation to reimburse the Secretary, the Secretary of 
     State, and the Secretary of Labor for the costs of carrying 
     out sections 218 and 218B of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act, as added by section 721 of this Act, and the provisions 
     of this Act.

     SEC. 732. REGULATIONS.

       (a) Regulations of the Secretary.--The Secretary shall 
     consult with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 
     Agriculture on all regulations to implement the duties of the 
     Secretary under this title and the amendments made by this 
     title.
       (b) Regulations of the Secretary of State.--The Secretary 
     of State shall consult with the Secretary, the Secretary of 
     Labor, and the Secretary of Agriculture on all regulations to 
     implement the duties of the Secretary of State under this 
     title and the amendments made by this title.
       (c) Regulations of the Secretary of Labor.--The Secretary 
     of Labor shall consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and 
     the Secretary on all regulations to implement the duties of 
     the Secretary of Labor under this title and the amendments 
     made by this title.
       (d) Deadline for Issuance of Regulations.--All regulations 
     to implement the duties of the Secretary, the Secretary of 
     State, and the Secretary of Labor created under sections 218, 
     218A, 218B, and 218C of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
     as added by section 721 of this Act, shall take effect on the 
     effective date of section 721 and shall be issued not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 733. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.

       Section 274(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(C) It is not a violation of clauses (ii), (iii), or (iv) 
     of subparagraph (A) for a religious denomination described in 
     section 101(a)(27)(C)(i) or an affiliated religious 
     organization described in section 101(a)(27)(C)(ii)(III), or 
     their agents or officers, to encourage, invite, call, allow, 
     or enable an alien who is present in the United States in 
     violation of law to carry on the vocation described in 
     section 101(a)(27)(C)(ii)(I), as a volunteer who is not 
     compensated as an employee, notwithstanding the provision of 
     room, board, travel, and other basic living expenses.''.

     SEC. 734. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided, sections 721 
     and 731 shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment 
     of this Act.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and submit 
     to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that 
     describes the measures being taken and the progress made in 
     implementing this title.


                           Amendment No. 432

                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. FRIST. I call for the regular order on the Chambliss amendment. I 
now send a cloture motion to the desk to the Chambliss amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion, having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the pending 
     Chambliss amendment to Calendar No. 67, H.R. 1268.
         Bill Frist, Saxby Chambliss, Mitch McConnell, Elizabeth 
           Dole, Larry Craig, Judd Gregg, Norm Coleman, Trent 
           Lott, Arlen Specter, George V. Voinovich, Bob Bennett, 
           Pete Domenici, Pat Roberts, Orrin Hatch, Richard Burr, 
           John Cornyn, James Talent, Chuck Hagel.


                     amendment no. 375, as modified

                             cloture motion

  Mr. FRIST. I ask we resume the Craig amendment, and I send a cloture 
motion to the desk to the Craig amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion, having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the pending 
     Craig amendment to Calendar No. 67, H.R. 1268.
         Bill Frist, Larry Craig, Mitch McConnell, Elizabeth Dole, 
           Judd Gregg, Saxby Chambliss, Trent Lott, George V. 
           Voinovich, Arlen Specter, Bob Bennett, Pete Domenici, 
           Pat Roberts, John E. Sununu, Orrin Hatch, Richard Burr, 
           John Cornyn, James Talent, Chuck Hagel.


                             cloture motion

  Mr. FRIST. I now send a cloture motion to the desk to the underlying 
bill.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion, having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on Calendar No. 67, 
     H.R. 1268.
         Bill Frist, Mitch McConnell, Elizabeth Dole, Olympia 
           Snowe, Norm Coleman, Pat Roberts, Orrin Hatch, John 
           Cornyn, Craig Thomas, Michael Enzi, Larry E. Craig, 
           Trent Lott, George V. Voinovich, Bob Bennett, Pete 
           Domenici, Richard Burr, James Talent.

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the live quorums, with 
respect to the four pending cloture motions, be waived.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. FRIST. For the information of Senators, we now have four cloture 
motions filed in relation to the emergency supplemental. They are filed 
on the Mikulski amendment on H-2B visas, the Chambliss AgJOBS 
amendment, the Craig AgJOBS amendment, and to the underlying emergency 
supplemental.
  This will ensure votes in relation to the three amendments and then 
allow the Senate to move toward finishing the bill. I remind my 
colleagues we will be able to consider additional amendments either 
Monday evening or after the cloture votes have occurred on Tuesday.
  I thank my colleagues and hope we can move quickly next week to pass 
this important bill in order to provide the appropriate resources to 
our troops. The cloture motions are filed to further the bringing of 
this bill to closure. It is an important bill to support our troops in 
Afghanistan and Iraq--indeed, around the world--and also the important 
tsunami relief.
  With what I have outlined, we will be able to take what are now still 
more than two pages of amendments, outside of the many immigration 
amendments that have emerged in the period over the last several days, 
and give them some order so we can bring this bill to closure. Again, I 
want to reaffirm our commitment to address immigration in the future. 
It is a very important issue, but we will be having these three cloture 
votes on the immigration issues I briefly outlined, and we have filed 
cloture on the underlying bill, which does allow us to stay on 
amendments, germane amendments that were laid down to changing, 
altering, improving this bill as we go forward.

[[Page 6647]]

  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Ohio.


                           Amendment No. 340

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 340 and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the pending 
amendments are set aside. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Ohio [Mr. DeWine], for himself, Mr. 
     Durbin, and Mr. Coleman, proposes an amendment numbered 340.

  Mr. DeWINE. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To increase the period of continued TRICARE coverage of 
children of members of the uniformed services who die while serving on 
             active duty for a period of more than 30 days)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. INCREASED PERIOD OF CONTINUED TRICARE COVERAGE OF 
                   CHILDREN OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES 
                   WHO DIE WHILE SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY FOR A 
                   PERIOD OF MORE THAN 30 DAYS.

       (a) Period of Eligibility.--Section 1079(g) of title 10, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(g)''; and
       (2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) In addition to any continuation of eligibility for 
     benefits under paragraph (1), when a member dies while on 
     active duty for a period of more than 30 days, the member's 
     dependents who are receiving benefits under a plan covered by 
     subsection (a) shall continue to be eligible for such 
     benefits during the three-year period beginning on the date 
     of the member's death, except that, in the case of such a 
     dependent who is a child of the deceased, the period of 
     continued eligibility shall be the longer of the following 
     periods beginning on such date:
       ``(A) Three years.
       ``(B) The period ending on the date on which the child 
     attains 21 years of age.
       ``(C) In the case of a child of the deceased who, at 21 
     years of age, is enrolled in a full-time course of study in a 
     secondary school or in a full-time course of study in an 
     institution of higher education approved by the administering 
     Secretary and was, at the time of the member's death, in fact 
     dependent on the member for over one-half of the child's 
     support, the period ending on the earlier of the following 
     dates:
       ``(i) The date on which the child ceases to pursue such a 
     course of study, as determined by the administering 
     Secretary.
       ``(ii) The date on which the child attains 23 years of age.
       ``(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(C), a child shall 
     be treated as being enrolled in a full-time course of study 
     in an institution of higher education during any reasonable 
     period of transition between the child's completion of a 
     full-time course of study in a secondary school and the 
     commencement of an enrollment in a full-time course of study 
     in an institution of higher education, as determined by the 
     administering Secretary.
       ``(4) No charge may be imposed for any benefits coverage 
     under this chapter that is provided for a child for a period 
     of continued eligibility under paragraph (2), or for any 
     benefits provided to such child during such period under that 
     coverage.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect as of October 1, 2001, and shall apply with 
     respect to deaths occurring on or after such date.

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, this amendment is cosponsored by Senator 
Durbin, Senator Coleman, Senator Dole, Senator Kennedy, Senator 
Salazar, and Senator Corzine. This amendment is designed to improve the 
health care access for those children who have lost a parent on active 
military duty.
  To understand the need for this amendment, we have to look at the 
current status of the law, to understand the problem, to understand why 
we need to change it. Currently, the dependent child--children of a 
deceased service member--will receive medical benefits under the 
TRICARE prime, for 3 years after that service member has died, at no 
cost. But following that period, the dependent child may continue to 
receive TRICARE prime at the retiree dependent premium rate available 
to children until the age of 21, or 23 if enrolled in school. But they 
have to pay for it.
  Also, if a dependent child's military parent dies, that child moves 
down on the food chain, in terms of availability of services. What that 
means is that if, for example, there is a doctor's appointment opening, 
an Active-Duty dependent would get preference to schedule that 
appointment over the dependent child whose parent has died in service.
  Let me state that again. Let me make sure my colleagues understand 
me. To take one example, if there is a doctor's appointment opening and 
your parent is alive, you get preference over a child whose parent was 
killed in Iraq or killed in Afghanistan.
  That is simply not fair. That is not right. I don't think any Member 
of the Senate, who really understands that, would say that is right. 
Our amendment would change that. What our amendment will do is put the 
surviving children of service members killed in service to our country 
in the same position as if their parent would have lived and continued 
to serve in the military. It puts them in no better position, but it 
puts them in the same position. That is all this amendment does. That 
is the right thing to do.
  What our amendment would do simply is to extend TRICARE prime to 
every dependent child of a deceased service member at no cost--the same 
thing as if the parent would have lived--until the dependent's age of 
21, or 23 if the dependent attends college. It is the same as if the 
service member were still alive.
  Maintaining this level of TRICARE coverage guarantees the surviving 
dependents will continue to have access to some of the best doctors 
this country has to offer and would receive adequate health care and 
treatment.
  This is the right thing to do, it is fair, and it is just. I believe 
it is what the American people, if they understood the issue, if the 
issue was explained to them, would clearly want us to do. To do any 
less for the surviving children of our service members who have been 
killed in service to our country is simply not right.
  I ask unanimous consent that two letters of support be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                      Reserve Officers Association


                                         of the United States,

                                   Washington, DC, April 11, 2005.
     Hon. Mike DeWine,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator DeWine: The Reserve Officers Association, 
     representing 75,000 Reserve Component members, supports your 
     amendment to the emergency supplemental appropriation, SR 
     109-052, to increase the period of continued TRICARE coverage 
     of children of members of the uniformed services who die 
     while serving on active duty for a period of more than 30 
     days.
       The Department of Defense (DoD) has relied heavily on the 
     Guard and Reserve to provide almost half of the troop support 
     for Iraq and Afghanistan and this does not even take into 
     consideration the number of members who have volunteered for 
     duty during this time. It has been announced that this level 
     of Reserve Component support has become the norm.
       Your bill will provide a limited entitlement, in keeping 
     with business case principles, that allows a member to serve 
     their country knowing that their family will be taken care of 
     if they give the ultimate sacrifice--their life.
       The Active and Reserve Components, are entering into a new 
     phase of protracted warfare and we need to update our 
     outdated personnel practices to reflect this new environment. 
     Congressional support for our nation's military men and women 
     in the Guard and Reserve is and always will be appreciated.
           Sincerely,

                                           Robert A. McIntosh,

     Major General (Ret), USAFR, Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                          National Military Family


                                                  Association,

                                                   April 10, 2005.
     Senator Mike DeWine,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington DC
       Dear Senator DeWine: The National Military Family 
     Association (NMFA) is a national nonprofit membership 
     organization whose sole focus is the military family. NMFA's 
     mission is to serve the families of the seven uniformed 
     services through education, information, and advocacy. On 
     behalf of NMFA and the families it serves, I would like to 
     thank you for introducing important amendments in The 
     Emergency Supplemental Wartime Appropriations Act, to enhance 
     benefits for survivors of those servicemembers who have made 
     the supreme sacrifice for their Nation.
       NMFA strongly believes that all servicemembers deaths 
     should be treated

[[Page 6648]]

     equally. Servicemembers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
     week, 365 days a year. Through their oath, each 
     servicemember's commitment is the same. The survivor benefit 
     package should not create inequities by awarding different 
     benefits to families who lose a servicemember in a hostile 
     zone versus those who lose their loved one in a training 
     mission preparing for service in a hostile zone. To the 
     family, there is no difference. Your amendment would extend 
     the death gratuity increase proposed by the Administration to 
     survivors of all active duty deaths, not just those that are 
     combat related.
       NMFA also supports the amendment you propose to extend the 
     TRICARE Prime medical benefit to any dependent child of a 
     deceased servicemember at not cost until the age of 21 or 23 
     if enrolled in school. This is a benefit that would have been 
     available to these children had their servicemember parent 
     lived and remained on active duty. The freedom from worrying 
     about copays and deductibles when a child needs to see a 
     doctor is very important for the surviving parent.
       Thank your for your support and interest in military 
     families. If NMFA can be of any assistance to you in other 
     areas concerning military families, please feel free to 
     contact Kathy Moakler in the Government Relations Department 
     at 703.931.6632.
           Sincerely,
                                               Candace A. Wheeler,
                                 Chairman/Chief Executive Officer.

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, one letter is from the Reserve Officers 
Association and one is from the National Military Family Association.
  I wish to share an excerpt from the letter from the ROA. Regarding 
health care benefits, it reads in part as follows:

       Your bill will provide a limited entitlement in keeping 
     with business case principles that allows a member to serve 
     their country knowing that their family will be taken care of 
     if they give the ultimate sacrifice--their life.

  We owe the families of those who have lost loved ones in active duty 
our gratitude and our support. It is time to do a better job of caring 
for these families. It is time to ensure that this Congress does what 
is right. I ask my colleagues to stand with me and with my other 
colleagues to support these families and do our part as they have done 
theirs.
  As I said, I am joined in this amendment by Senators Durbin, Coleman, 
Dole, Kennedy, Salazar, and Corzine. We believe this is the equitable 
thing to do, it is the fair thing to do, and it is the right thing to 
do.
  Again, to repeat: All it does is put this child who has lost a parent 
in Iraq, who lost a parent in Afghanistan, who has lost a parent in 
service to our country, in the same position that child would have been 
if that parent would have continued to serve in the military and would 
have continued to live.
  Today, without this amendment, that child is discriminated against. 
After 3 years, that child has to pay for his or her own premium, that 
family has to pay the premium and, not only that, even if they pay the 
premium, they are put in a different position than if the parent would 
have lived. The child of a person in the military who lives is in a 
better position than a child of a person in the military who is 
deceased, and that is wrong. This amendment corrects that.
  I ask unanimous consent that this amendment be set aside for the 
moment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Amendment No. 342

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I now ask that my amendment No. 342 be 
called up.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Ohio [Mr. DeWine], for himself, and Mr. 
     Bingaman, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Corzine, 
     Mr. Chafee, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Alexander, Mr. 
     Martinez, Mr. Smith, Mr. Specter, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
     Lautenberg, and Mr. Obama, proposes an amendment numbered 
     342.

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To appropriate $10,000,000 to provide assistance to Haiti 
using Child Survival and Health Programs funds, $21,000,000 to provide 
assistance to Haiti using Economic Support Fund funds, and $10,000,000 
 to provide assistance to Haiti using International Narcotics Control 
      and Law Enforcement funds, to be designated as an emergency 
                              requirement)

       On page 183, after line 23, add the following:

                  Funds Appropriated to the President


           united states agency for international development

                child survival and health programs fund

       For necessary expenses to provide assistance to Haiti under 
     chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 
     for child survival, health, and family planning/reproductive 
     health activities, in addition to funds otherwise available 
     for such purposes, $10,000,000, to remain available until 
     expended: Provided, That the amount provided under this 
     heading is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to 
     section 402 of the conference report to accompany S. Con. 
     Res. 95 (108th Congress).


                          Assistance to Haiti

       Sec. 2105. (a)(1) The total amount appropriated by this 
     chapter under the heading ``Economic Support Fund'' is 
     increased by $21,000,000. Of the total amount appropriated 
     under that heading, $21,000,000 shall be available for 
     necessary expenses to provide assistance to Haiti.
       (2) Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), up to 
     $10,000,000 may be made available for election assistance in 
     Haiti.
       (3) Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), up to 
     $10,000,000 may be made available for public works programs 
     in Haiti.
       (4) Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), up to 
     $1,000,000 may be made available for administration of 
     justice programs in Haiti.
       (5) The amount made available under paragraph (1) is 
     designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
     402 of the conference report to accompany S. Con. Res. 95 
     (108th Congress).
       (b)(1) The total amount appropriated by this chapter under 
     the heading ``International Narcotics Control and Law 
     Enforcement'' is increased by $10,000,000. Of the total 
     amount appropriated under that heading, $10,000,000 shall be 
     available for necessary expenses to provide assistance to 
     Haiti.
       (2) Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), up to 
     $5,000,000 may be made available for training and equipping 
     the Haitian National Police.
       (3) Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), up to 
     $5,000,000 may be made available to provide additional United 
     States civilian police in support of the United Nations 
     Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
       (4) The amount made available under paragraph (1) is 
     designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
     402 of the conference report to accompany S. Con. Res. 95 
     (108th Congress).

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, this amendment is cosponsored by Senators 
Bingaman, Coleman, Nelson, Corzine, Dole, Chafee, Dodd, Durbin, 
Alexander, Martinez, Smith, Specter, Kennedy, Lautenberg, and Obama. It 
will provide additional emergency assistance to Haiti. Unfortunately, 
the fact is that the bill before us now contains virtually no 
additional economic assistance to Haiti, the poorest country in our 
hemisphere.
  Haiti today is on the brink of collapse. Elections are scheduled in 
November, but there is grave social unrest and horrible poverty that is 
spinning Haiti back into its previous cycles of violence and 
instability. Haiti is our neighbor to the south, about an hour and a 
half plane trip from Miami. Twice in the last decade, American marines, 
American troops, have had to go to Haiti.
  There is an interim government in Haiti, a government that was 
supported and is supported and backed by the United States and by the 
international community, but the situation is very precarious. That 
interim government is scheduled to give way to a permanent government 
after elections that are now scheduled for November of this year. There 
is an international peacekeeping force in Haiti, but there is 
significant violence, and the government is, quite frankly, tottering.
  Money is needed in this emergency supplemental for emergency reasons 
in Haiti. We cannot wait for the normal appropriations process. First 
of all, money is needed for the elections. The United States will have 
to contribute toward these elections. We will have to take the lead, 
and other countries, of course, will participate, if elections are 
going to be held.
  Those elections were not scheduled when the last appropriations bill 
went

[[Page 6649]]

through this Congress. No one could have totally foreseen what the 
exact situation would have been in Haiti when the last appropriations 
bill was approved by this Congress. The violence has continued. The 
international peacekeeping force has not been as aggressive as some of 
us would have liked to have seen it, and therefore violence has 
continued. Some of the pro-Aristide forces are responsible for some of 
the violence, and some of the old regime people dating back to Baby Doc 
are responsible for some of the violence. The situation is not good.
  Some of this money, quite frankly, needs to be used for humanitarian 
assistance. Some of the money needs to be used to train the police. 
Some of the money needs to be used to deal with the unemployment 
situation.
  My colleagues and I--a long bipartisan list that I have read with 
seven Republicans have sponsored this amendment--are working with the 
chairman of the subcommittee and with the chairman of the full 
committee to see what funds might be available and what we might be 
able to work out with regard to this amendment.
  If the United States does not stay engaged in Haiti, the day will not 
be far off when there will be more chaos in Haiti than there already 
is, and the government may fall. American troops may be back in Haiti 
at great cost to us, potential lives as well as money, and we may once 
again see more people flooding toward the United States. This will be 
money that is very well spent, and, quite frankly, I believe we have no 
choice but to spend this money.
  I ask unanimous consent that this amendment be set aside.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I wish to talk now about two other 
amendments, one of which has already been offered and one which will be 
offered that I have cosponsored.
  Haiti is not the only emergency need that cannot wait another 6 or 9 
months for funding. I wish to first talk about an amendment that 
Senator Kohl and I sponsored and that Senator Cochran has been very 
helpful in regard to.
  Our amendment provides additional emergency money for food aid. The 
President in his budget requested $150 million in additional emergency 
food aid in this bill. Quite frankly, we need to do more. Accounts have 
been drained, and over 17 million people are in need of emergency food 
aid in the world. That is a very conservative estimate.
  Last week, the United Nations World Food Program announced that it 
would be forced to cut rations to Darfur to make their supplies last. 
As Senator Frist so eloquently spoke just a few moments ago, the people 
in this part of the world suffered through genocide, and now they will 
starve. In addition, the U.S. Agency for International Development has 
been forced to cut programs in Sudan and Angola, Nicaragua, Rwanda, 
Ghana, Eritrea--all food programs.
  We know, of course, about the high-profile food aid emergencies, such 
as the people affected by the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the people 
in Darfur, but what we really do not hear so much about is the need for 
food as a result of the locust infestation that swept through Africa 
last year, devastating crops, and what we do not hear about is the 
devastating floods in Bangladesh that leave women and children without 
any means of survival. We cannot tell these 17 million starving people 
of the world to wait. We can't tell them to wait for the regular 
appropriations cycle because, frankly, by then, for them at least, it 
will be too late.
  When this amendment comes to the floor, the amendment sponsored by 
Senator Kohl and me, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to 
provide this emergency food. It is lifesaving. It will make a 
difference. Lives are, in fact, saved.
  Finally, I am cosponsoring an amendment offered by Senator Corzine, 
together with Senators Brownback and Durbin, that would provide $93.5 
million to address the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.
  Again, I thank my colleague, Senator Frist, who has on many occasions 
been to Sudan and has personally done humanitarian work there, and who 
has been so very active on the floor of the Senate as well. I thank him 
for his eloquent words a few minutes ago and for his great leadership.
  I also thank my other colleagues who have taken the lead in this area 
and for their comments on the floor about this particular amendment and 
the dire situation in Darfur. They have been deeply committed to 
helping this troubled region of our world, and I commend them for their 
work.
  The amendment would provide $52 million in assistance for the African 
Union. The African Union is trying to stop the genocide, and we have a 
moral obligation to support their mission.
  This amendment also addresses the overwhelming humanitarian crisis in 
Darfur--providing $40.5 million for international disaster assistance. 
The United Nations International Children's Fund estimates that they 
only have access to 5 to 10 percent of Darfur and only can get into 5 
or 10 percent, and they have access only to one-third of the millions 
of people living in the region. Children's lives depend on our vote on 
this amendment.
  This amendment is budget neutral.
  I urge all of my colleagues who have raised their voices on the floor 
in opposition to the crimes being committed in Darfur to vote for this 
amendment and to vote for the accompanying amendment containing the 
Darfur Accountability Act. The genocide in Darfur must end, and it must 
end now.
  I understand that we cannot address every problem in the world in 
this particular bill and that some things will have to wait for the 
regular appropriations cycle, but the things that I have come to the 
floor to talk about this morning simply will not wait. Lives are at 
stake if we do not address them in this bill, and lives will, in fact, 
be lost. Each one of the items that I have talked about is a matter of 
crisis, a matter of emergency.
  They need to be included in this bill.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Amendment No. 451

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk, and I 
ask unanimous consent that Senators Mikulski, Stabenow, Dodd, Boxer, 
Dorgan, Lieberman, Clinton, and Akaka be added as cosponsors of this 
amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New York [Mr. Schumer], for himself, Ms. 
     Mikulski, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. 
     Lieberman, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Akaka, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 451.

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To lower the burden of gasoline prices on the economy of the 
 United States and circumvent the efforts of OPEC to reap windfall oil 
                                profits)

       On page 231, between lines 3 and 4, insert the following:
       Sec. 6047.(a) Congress finds that--
       (1) the prices of gasoline and crude oil have a direct and 
     substantial impact on the financial well-being of families of 
     the United States, the potential for national economic 
     recovery, and the economic security of the United States;
       (2) on April 12, 2005, crude oil prices closed at the 
     exceedingly high level of $51.86 per barrel and the price of 
     crude oil has remained above $50 per barrel since February 
     22, 2005;

[[Page 6650]]

       (3) on April 11, 2005, the Energy Information 
     Administration announced that the national price of gasoline, 
     at $2.28 per gallon--
       (A) had set a new record high for a 4th consecutive week;
       (B) was $0.49 higher than last year; and
       (C) could reach even higher levels in the near future;
       (4) despite the severely high, sustained price of crude 
     oil--
       (A) the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 
     (referred to in this section as ``OPEC'') has refused to 
     adequately increase production to calm global oil markets and 
     officially abandoned its $22-$28 price target; and
       (B) officials of OPEC member nations have publicly 
     indicated support for maintaining oil prices of $40-$50 per 
     barrel;
       (5) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (referred to in this 
     section as ``SPR'') was created to enhance the physical and 
     economic security of the United States;
       (6) the law allows the SPR to be used to provide relief 
     when oil and gasoline supply shortages cause economic 
     hardship;
       (7) the proper management of the resources of the SPR could 
     provide gasoline price relief to families of the United 
     States and provide the United States with a tool to 
     counterbalance OPEC supply management policies;
       (8) the Administration's current policy of filling the SPR 
     despite the fact that the SPR is more than 98 percent full 
     has exacerbated the rising price of crude oil and record high 
     retail price of gasoline;
       (9) in order to combat high gasoline prices during the 
     summer and fall of 2000, President Clinton released 
     30,000,000 barrels of oil from the SPR, stabilizing the 
     retail price of gasoline;
       (10) increasing vertical integration has allowed--
       (A) the 5 largest oil companies in the United States to 
     control almost as much crude oil production as the Middle 
     Eastern members of OPEC, over of domestic refiner capacity, 
     and over 60 percent of the retail gasoline market; and
       (B) the top 10 oil companies in the world to make more than 
     $100,000,000,000 in profit and in some instances to post 
     record-breaking fourth quarter earnings that were in some 
     cases more than 200 percent higher than the previous year;
       (11) the Administration has failed to manage the SPR in a 
     manner that would provide gasoline price relief to working 
     families; and
       (12) the Administration has failed to adequately demand 
     that OPEC immediately increase oil production in order to 
     lower crude oil prices and safeguard the world economy.
       (b) It is the sense of Congress that the President should--
       (1) directly confront OPEC and challenge OPEC to 
     immediately increase oil production; and
       (2) direct the Federal Trade Commission and Attorney 
     General to exercise vigorous oversight over the oil markets 
     to protect the people of the United States from price gouging 
     and unfair practices at the gasoline pump.
       (c)(1) For the period beginning on the date of enactment of 
     this Act and ending on the date that is 30 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act--
       (A) deliveries of oil to the SPR shall be suspended; and
       (B) 1,000,000 barrels of oil per day shall be released from 
     the SPR.
       (2) If necessary to lower the burden of gasoline prices on 
     the economy of the United States and to circumvent the 
     efforts of OPEC to reap windfall crude oil profits, 1,000,000 
     barrels of oil per day shall be released from the Strategic 
     Petroleum Reserve for an additional 30 days.

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the amendment I have offered will allow 
the Federal Government to take long overdue action to curb the record 
high gasoline prices that are plaguing American consumers at the pump. 
As my colleagues are aware, for weeks, oil and gasoline prices have 
been placing an immense burden on working families. They are burning a 
hole in every wallet and pocketbook in America, and they are 
threatening our fragile recovery. The March numbers showed that 
consumers are not spending on other things because of the high prices 
of gasoline and other petroleum products. It is time this body took 
action to protect our Nation's economic security from sky-high oil 
prices and the whims of the OPEC cartel.
  This amendment would provide the American consumer with relief by 
halting the diversion of oil from markets to the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve, and by releasing an amount of oil from the reserve through a 
swap program in order to increase supply, quell the markets, and bring 
down prices at the pump.
  What we are faced with is the simple market economics of supply and 
demand. If demand goes up, price goes up. If supply goes up, price goes 
down. At a time when we are facing recordbreaking gasoline prices, it 
is unfathomable that the Federal Government would actually be taking 
oil off the market and exacerbating the high costs of working families.
  The price of crude oil has remained at near record highs for the 
first half of 2005. Oil has been trading at over $50 a barrel since 
February 22. The prices have already burdened Americans, particularly 
in my home State of New York and the Northeast where we rely on home 
heating oil to heat our homes, as people have done throughout the 
winter.
  I know a lot of these families were hoping for a quick spring so they 
could enjoy relief from the high energy prices. Unfortunately, that has 
not been the case, as the increased burden of oil costs has just moved 
from the home and now, as we approach spring, to the highway. As 
Americans are beginning to plan for their summer vacations and road 
trips, the price of gasoline has reached a record high for the fourth 
week in a row.
  The Energy Information Administration predicted that the current 
price of $2.28 a gallon--that is 49 cents, just about half a dollar up 
from last year--could give way to even higher prices in the future.
  We know who is being hurt by these oil prices, and we know who is 
benefiting--OPEC. OPEC made over $300 billion in oil revenue last year. 
They stand to gain much more if the price stays in the stratosphere. 
And they have a policy which they keep changing. Originally, they said 
$22 to $28 a barrel would be their policy. Now they say they are 
comfortable at oil remaining at $40 to $50 permanently. I know who will 
not be comfortable--American families who depend on affordable oil to 
commute to work, heat their homes, and provide for their energy needs.
  Some of my colleagues may be asking: Didn't OPEC agree to increase 
production by 500,000 barrels a day? The reality is that OPEC's pledge 
to increase production on paper has not reduced prices at the pump. 
OPEC cut a million barrels in the face of rising prices, and now they 
say they are going to raise it 500,000 barrels. But we are not sure 
this is happening because it may be a paper transaction. When it comes 
to the talk of increasing production by another 500,000 barrels, an 
increase that might actually result in a production raise, it is no 
surprise that OPEC members are balking. Venezuela, Nigeria, and Libya--
all have indicated they would oppose such an increase. That is another 
reason we should use the SPR because there is a division in OPEC, and 
we can strengthen the hands of those more responsible nations that want 
to increase production to meet the increasing demand in the world.
  What has the administration done on this? It has continued its policy 
of taking oil off the market and placing it in the SPR. This policy, 
which further tightens the oil market by taking much-needed supplies 
out of commerce, is slated to take an average of 85,000 barrels a day 
off the market during the height of the driving season.
  I understand some of my colleagues are convinced the SPR should not 
be touched, even to safeguard our economic security. I would argue that 
the concerns to this degree do not properly balance America's physical 
security needs against our economic security needs. The SPR is now 98 
percent full. We are not recommending a sale but, rather, a swap so the 
oil would be replaced presumably at a lower price, and we would have 
the full amount of oil in the SPR once again.
  The administration has these tools, and yet we are letting OPEC 
control the whole show. If we showed them we meant business, that we 
were willing to mix in, they would be far more reticent, far more 
reluctant to raise the price at will in the light of increasing demand 
from China, India, our country, and other places.
  It is about time we did this. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
protecting the pocketbook of working families from OPEC's profiteering 
by supporting the amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page 6651]]

  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I want to make some remarks today on the 
Defense supplemental we have before us. It is critical we pass that 
legislation. I have been exceedingly disappointed that critical 
legislation to support our troops who are serving us in Iraq and 
Afghanistan and other areas around the world is being held up by what 
now appears to be a prolonged and extensive debate on immigration. More 
than that, we are being asked to vote on a very significant immigration 
legislation. No. 1, the AgJOBS bill is 105 pages. As I read it, Mr. 
President, as I know you have, it is breathtakingly deficient. It will 
undermine our current immigration system, make it much worse. It is an 
abomination. Yet I understand at one point the sponsors, Senators Craig 
and Kennedy, said they had over 60 Senators prepared to vote for it. 
Now, they are peeling off right and left and we may certainly hope 
there are not votes sufficient to pass this legislation we will be 
voting on now on a defense bill.
  I was in an Immigration Subcommittee hearing yesterday, chaired by 
Senator Cornyn who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. It 
was a very informative and important hearing. He has been working on 
this for many months now, trying to hammer out something that makes 
sense for America. Yet now we are rushing through to vote on this bill. 
I want to share some thoughts about it.
  I want to strongly oppose the AgJOBS Act. I oppose it, not only 
because it has nothing to do with the money we need to support our 
troops in Iraq and will no doubt, and already has, slow down the bill, 
but because it undermines the rule of law by rewarding illegal aliens 
with amnesty. It creates no mechanisms in the law that will help bring 
integrity to a system that is failing badly. It is a huge step 
backward. It would be a disaster, if you want to know the truth.
  It contains a host of bad provisions that should not be law and, as a 
result, has even lost the support of much of the agriculture community 
the sponsors claim to be so much in need of it.
  It will provide amnesty to 1 million illegal aliens and their 
families in addition, illegal aliens who broke the immigration law to 
come here illegally and then again broke the law by working here 
illegally. The AgJOBS bill will treat unfairly those people who come to 
the United States legally to work in agriculture, and do their work and 
comply with the rules dutifully. They do not benefit at all from this 
amnesty. Only illegals can benefit from its passage. That is a 
fundamental principle a great nation ought to think about. This is not 
an itty-bitty matter. We are going to provide a benefit to somebody who 
violates a law and deny it to somebody who complies with the law? What 
kind of policy can that be? How can one justify such a policy?
  Under the AgJOBS bill, illegal aliens are granted not only the right 
to stay here and work here, but they are put on the road to 
citizenship, a virtual guaranteed path to citizenship unless they get 
arrested for a felony--not arrested, you have to be convicted of a 
felony. Or if you are convicted of three misdemeanors, that can get you 
out--three or more.
  As I noted, the legal farm workers under the current H-2A program 
will get nothing. They are certainly not put on a road to citizenship. 
Legal workers will not become permanent resident workers and then 
citizens under the AgJOBS bill. If the AgJOBS bill passes, we will 
state to the world that America is in fact rewarding people who break 
the law to the disadvantage of those who follow it.
  The sponsors of the amendment say this is not amnesty, it is earned 
legalization; it is adjustment of status; it is rehabilitation. Those 
are misnomers, to say the least. The AgJOBS bill is amnesty, plain and 
simple. It will give illegal aliens the very thing they broke the law 
to get, the ability to live and work inside the United States without 
having to wait in line the same as everybody else to get it. The 
amnesty contained in AgJOBS does not stop there. It goes even further 
and gives illegal aliens a direct path from their new legal status to 
U.S. citizenship. Getting rewarded by being handed the exact thing you 
broke the law to get plus the ability to get citizenship is amnesty, I 
think, under any definition of it. It even goes far beyond the 
proposals President Bush has made that some have called amnesty, and he 
says it is not.
  I am somewhat dubious about some of the ideas he has proposed. But 
his principles are clearly violated by this AgJOBS bill. Make no 
mistake about it, President Bush, for all his commitment to improving 
the ability of people to come to America to work, has never announced 
principles as breathtakingly broad as this.
  Let us remind ourselves that criminal laws are involved here. Title 
8, section 1325 of the United States Code says illegal entry into the 
United States is a misdemeanor on the first offense, a felony 
thereafter. Coming here illegally, regardless of why you came, is a 
criminal offense. Oftentimes, false documents and papers are submitted 
and filed. That is a criminal offense also.
  Not only does it provide amnesty to illegal aliens who are already 
working here, it gives amnesty to the illegal alien's family, if their 
family is also illegally here. But if their family is still abroad and 
not here, the AgJOBS amendment allows the illegal alien to send for 
their family and bring them here, cutting in line ahead of others who 
made the mistake of trying to comply with our laws rather than break 
them.
  According to a Pew report, there are at least 840,000 illegal 
immigrant workers who would be eligible for amnesty under this bill. 
Adding in one spouse and a minor child for each of those, the estimate 
can easily increase to 3 million immigrants--3 million, all of whom are 
defined only in the agricultural community, not in any other community 
in the country where it seems to me we would have a very difficult time 
on principle defining why agriculture workers get such beneficial 
treatment compared to any other worker who might be here.
  Not only does AgJOBS give amnesty to the current people who are in 
our country illegally, but it extends that amnesty to illegal aliens 
who once worked in America but have already gone home. It actually 
encourages them to come back to the United States and puts them on a 
route that leads them to full citizenship. These are people who have 
returned home to their country, and we are putting them ahead of lawful 
workers who come here and may also want to be citizens one day.
  The AgJOBS amendment will create a category of ``lawful, temporary 
resident status'' of agricultural workers who have worked at least 100 
days in the 18 months prior to December 31, 2004. These are supposed to 
be workers who were here working, contributing to our economy, but they 
only have to work 100 days.
  You have to read these acts. You can't just believe what you hear 
about them. I was trying to study it last night and things kept hitting 
me that almost take your breath away. One hundred workdays--do you know 
how that is defined in the act? An individual who is employed 1 or more 
hours in agriculture per day, that is a workday. For literally as many 
or as few as 100 hours of agricultural work in 18 months you are put on 
this track. That is not good policy. I don't know who wrote this bill. 
The details of it are extremely troubling.
  Because the bill now only applies to agricultural workers, it is true 
the entire illegal population that is estimated to be in our country of 
8 to 10 million will not be legalized under the bill. However, we can 
be quite sure the majority of those 1.2 million illegal agricultural 
workers will apply for amnesty if this amendment is passed.
  Again I ask, what real principle can we stand on to say we need to 
give these people who are here illegally

[[Page 6652]]

preference over people who might be working in some other industry?
  Under the AgJOBS bill, an illegal alien is not deportable as soon as 
his paperwork is filed. No factfinding or adjudication on the 
application is necessary. It kicks in a protection that he cannot be 
deported. Maybe he has been charged with a felony, but the trial hasn't 
come along yet. It seems to me the procedure is guaranteed to go 
forward and they will be able to be put on this track. After the 
illegal alien gets the first round of amnesty, being granted temporary 
legal status under the AgJOBS bill, the bill gives them the opportunity 
to continue working in agriculture and apply for permanent resident 
status here in the United States. Thereafter that puts you in a 
position to become a citizen--guaranteed, unless you get in some big 
trouble.
  There is no limit on the number of individuals who would be allowed 
to adjust to lawful permanent residence and eventually become citizens. 
If the illegal alien who meets the bill criteria has already left the 
United States, the legislation actually would encourage them to come 
back through the border to become a lawful temporary worker. As I read 
the legislation, they are allowed to do that by filing a petition. I 
believe it is called a preliminary petition. This petition is pretty 
interesting. The petition fundamentally is filed at the border with an 
officer, it says. And who is the officer? An officer is a member of a 
farm workers organization or an employer group, both of which are not 
representing the interests of the citizens of the United States but 
both of which have a special interest in having the alien come into the 
country. That is how they make their money. And they have to accept it 
if he produces virtually any document at all that would say he or she 
has worked in the country at sometime previously.
  Later on my breath was taken away where it says in this act that the 
documents filed by the illegal alien are confidential. Read this:

       Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Secretary 
     [that's the Secretary of Homeland Security, who is supposed 
     to be supervising all of this, under his jurisdiction] nor 
     any official or employee of the Homeland Security or Bureau 
     or Agency thereof may use the information furnished by the 
     applicant pursuant to an application under this section. . . 
     .

  It goes on to say:

       Files and records prepared for the purposes of this section 
     by qualified designated entities [these are these employer 
     groups. These are the farm worker organizations] are 
     confidential, and the Secretary shall not have access to such 
     files or records relating to the alien without the consent of 
     the alien, except as allowed by a court order issued pursuant 
     to paragraph 6.

  Great Scott, you mean you file an application that is supposed to 
justify you to come into the country, and it is supposed to allow you 
to come in here, but the drafters of this legislation are so 
distrustful of our Government and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
that he is not even able to see the documents? I don't know how this 
became the policy of the United States.
  The fundamental principle is that no nation is required to allow 
anyone to come into their country because they have sovereignty over 
their country. They set standards and try to adhere to them. Wise 
countries such as ours are very generous about how many people are 
allowed to come in. Some are far more strict--most are, in fact, more 
strict than are we. But no one has a right, automatically, to enter 
somebody's country. You enter by permission of that country. I don't 
think there would be anything wrong to ask the applicant to at least 
file a petition so the designated governmental official in charge of 
the operation can see it, instead of it being secret from them.
  Frank Gaffney recently wrote a column entitled ``Stealth Amnesty.'' 
He is the president of the Center for Security Policy. We do have some 
security problems involving terrorism involved around our country. He 
summarized the AgJOBS bill by saying this:

       By the legislation's own terms, an illegal alien will be 
     turned into ``an alien lawfully admitted for temporary 
     residence'' . . .

  Just by fiat.
  Provided they had managed to work unlawfully in an agricultural job 
in the United States for a minimum of 100 hours; in other words, for 
2\1/2\ weeks during 18 months prior to August 31, 2003.
  I will continue to talk about the bizarre nature of this application 
process. Someone who is even not in the country who wants to come back 
into the country, as I understand it, who has worked in our country 
illegally for some period of time and have returned to their country, 
they want to come back; they file an application, a preliminary 
application, I believe the phrase is. They do not file it with the 
Government, they file it with a farm workers group or an employer 
group, both of which do not have a real interest in seeing that the 
laws of the United States are enforced.
  It goes on. It is difficult to understand. I read from page 24 of the 
205-page bill:

     . . . the Secretary shall not have access to such files or 
     records relating to the alien without the consent of the 
     alien, except as allowed by a court order.

  It goes on to say that ``neither the Secretary nor any official'' 
shall ``use the information furnished by the applicant pursuant to an 
application filed under this section,'' provided they cannot use it 
``for any purpose other than to make a determination on the application 
or for enforcement.''
  Then it goes on to state that ``nothing in this section shall be 
construed to limit the use or release for immigration enforcement 
purposes or law enforcement purposes'' of information contained in 
files and records of the Department of Homeland Security but that does 
not give them the ability to use the information contained in the 
paperwork filed with the employer group. Those papers the employer does 
not give to the Department of Homeland Security are kept secret and not 
available to law enforcement, the bill goes on to add that no 
information in the application can be used ``other than information 
furnished by an applicant pursuant to the application or any other 
information derived from the application that is not available for any 
other source.''
  I was a prosecutor. I know how hard it was to handle these things. 
This bill will create a situation that makes these documents virtually 
unusable in making sure this system has integrity. Why do we want to do 
that? What possible reason do we want to have in legislation of this 
kind that would say when you come here and you present documentation 
into evidence that justifies coming here to do that--why shouldn't the 
information you present in your application be part of the files of the 
Government, be reviewable at any time by any agency of the Government, 
for any purpose for which they want to use it? Everybody else has to do 
that.
  Before you can be a Senator, you have to disclose all your finances. 
That does not take me long, but for some people it takes a long time. 
We have to do that, but somebody who is not even a citizen, not even a 
resident of this country, can keep information secret even though they 
are asking to become legal permanent residents eligible for 
citizenship.
  Mr. President, I will quote from an article by Mr. Frank Gaffney. 
This confirms what I have been saying, which is undisputable about the 
bill. We are not at a time in our history when we should be doing this. 
It is exactly opposite of what we should be doing if we want to create 
a new system of immigration that allows more people to come here 
legally, to work as their schedules are fit, with employers who may 
need them.
  We can do that. We should do that. We can do better about that. We 
can improve current law. But to just willy-nilly allow people who could 
very well be very marginal part-time employees, who never worked much--
to give them permanent resident status and citizenship for violating 
our laws is thunderously erroneous, in my view. It is just not good.
  Mr. Gaffney goes on to say:
  Once so transformed--What he means by that is once you have been 
transformed from an illegal person to a legal person by filing an 
application--they can stay in the U.S. indefinitely while

[[Page 6653]]

applying for permanent resident status. From there, it is a matter of 
time before they can become citizens, so long as they work in the 
agricultural sector for 675 hours over the next six years.
  But you only have to work, really, 2,000 hours, or 1 year out of 6 
years, but you have to stay in the agricultural sector.
  Some have called this creating indentured servants. Why isn't it a 
form of indentured servitude? You have to come here. You are required 
to work for 6 years in agriculture. You cannot take some other type 
employment.
  The Craig [-Kennedy] bill would confer this amnesty as an exchange 
for indentured servitude. The amnesty will be conferred--Mr. Gaffney 
goes on to say--not only on farmworking illegal aliens who are in this 
country--estimates of those eligible run to more than 800,000. It would 
also extend the opportunity to those who otherwise qualified but had 
previously left the United States. No one knows how many would fall in 
this category and want to return as legal workers. But, a safe bet is 
that there are hundreds of thousands of them.
  If any were needed, S. 1645 [the AgJOBS bill] offers a further 
incentive to the illegals: Your family can stay, as well. 
Alternatively, if they are not with you, [and you are in the United 
States] you can bring them in, too--cutting in line ahead of others who 
made the mistake of abiding by, rather than ignoring, our laws.
  So the system would work this way. I do not think anyone would 
dispute this. Someone is here illegally. They are working in 
agricultural work. By the way, it defines, at the beginning of this 
legislation, what an ``employer'' means in agricultural employment. And 
it says:
  The term ``employer'' means any person or entity, including any farm 
labor contractor and any agricultural association, that employs workers 
in agricultural employment.
  So you have to work for an agricultural employer, but that does not 
indicate to me that you have to be working in agriculture. Maybe the 
company has some workers who are agricultural, and 90 percent of them 
are not. Maybe you could work for them the way this thing is written, 
regardless.
  But the way this system would work is if they were here illegally 
over a period of 18 months--if they were here just 18 months--and had 
worked 100 hours in agricultural employment during that 18 months, the 
Secretary shall make them a lawful temporary resident--required to, 
unless they committed a serious crime or something.
  Then, over the next 6 years, if they were to work in agriculture for 
up to 2,060 hours--that is about 1 year's work--over 6 years in 
agriculture, they become a legal permanent resident. Then if you just 
hang along there for 5 years, you can become a citizen.
  Now, I do not see where this can be supported by somebody saying they 
earned their citizenship. Citizenship should not be bought and paid for 
in labor. Why? Well, they worked for compensation, they wanted to work 
for compensation, this is not something we forced them to come here and 
do, they were paid like every other American is paid. You earn your pay 
for the work you perform. I do not know that you should earn additional 
benefits because you work. All the while, of course, the lawful H-2A 
workers are still required to go home when their time is up. They only 
receive pay for working, why should we give illegal workers more than 
that.
  The AgJOBS amendment goes so far as to provide free legal counsel to 
illegal aliens who want to receive this amnesty. All Americans don't 
get free legal counsel. There is no notice in this bill that suggests 
they have to have any low-income level or have no assets to get the 
legal services this bill gives to illegal alien workers. It provides 
that the Legal Services Corporation can expend their funds and shall 
not be prevented from providing legal assistance directly related to an 
application for adjustment of status under this section.
  Again, we are now giving them free legal status, free legal services, 
and we are allowing them to go to these groups, these farmworker 
organizations or employer groups, to help them with that. The AgJOBS 
amendment provides all that in that fashion.
  Let me talk about another item in this amendment an item that 
restricts the rights of employers. I don't know how every State does 
it. I think probably a substantial number of States, like my State of 
Alabama, have laws that provide for employment at will; that is, unless 
an employee has a contract, they work for the company and they can 
leave the company whenever they want and the company can terminate them 
whenever they want. That is Alabama law. I am rather certain of that. 
But if you come in under this act, you get an enhanced protection over 
American citizens. Prohibition: No alien granted temporary resident 
status under subsection (a) may be terminated from employment by any 
employer during the period of temporary resident status except for just 
cause. And they set up an administrative law process, an arbitration 
proceeding to have all these trials. The burden of proof is on the 
employer to demonstrate just cause for termination, and he has the 
burden to prove it by a preponderance of the evidence.
  Once again, we are entering into a complex legal deal here we need to 
avoid, providing legal rights and protections to noncitizens who have 
violated the law that are not available to American citizens.
  Presumably, there are two farmworkers on this farm somewhere. One of 
them is an American citizen--in Alabama, let us say--and the boss wants 
to fire one of them. If he fires the temporary resident alien, he has 
to go through arbitration and hire a lawyer and defend himself and be 
sued. As a matter of fact, it goes on to say that doesn't end it. That 
is one additional remedy the worker can have. He can still sue the 
employer for any kind of fraud, abuse or harassment or any other thing 
that some trial lawyer may pursue. So it doesn't end it. The evidence 
apparently can be utilized from that trial into a next trial.
  I am concerned about that. I believe it is an unnecessary litigation 
that is going to impact our country adversely. That is why you will see 
that agricultural groups are not supporting this AgJOBS bill.
  What we really should do is follow the recommendations made to us 
over the years by immigration commissions of Congress that have been 
created for the specific purpose of providing advice and counsel to us 
on how to effect immigration reform. In 1992, 6 years after the last 
illegal alien agricultural worker amnesty passed in 1986 as part of the 
Immigration Reform and Control Act, the IRCA, the Commission on 
Agricultural Workers issued a report to Congress that studied the 
effects of the 1986 agricultural amnesty called the Special 
Agricultural Worker Program.
  One of the first things the Commission acknowledged was the number of 
workers given amnesty under the bill had been severely underestimated. 
The Commission reported the SAW Program legalized many more farmworkers 
than expected:

       It appears that the number of undocumented workers who had 
     worked in seasonal agricultural services prior to the IRCA 
     was generally underestimated.

  What else did the Commission find? Did it suggest that this solved 
the problem of workers in America in agricultural industry? Did it fix 
the problem that they tried to fix in 1986?
  They say this:

       Six years after the IRCA was signed into law, the problems 
     within the system of agricultural labor continued to exist. 
     In most areas, an increasing number of newly arriving 
     unauthorized workers compete for available jobs, reducing the 
     number of workers available to all harvest workers--

  That is, those who were given amnesty and those who are citizens--

     and contributing to lower annual earnings.

  Did the Commission recommend we pass a second legalization program 
such as AgJOBS? What did they say that might help us on that? They said 
this:

       A worker specific and/or industry specific legalization 
     program, as contained in the IRCA, should not be the basis of 
     future immigration policy.

  This was 6 years after we did the last one. They had a commission 
study it.

[[Page 6654]]

This is what they concluded. What do they suggest we ought to do? What 
did the Commission recommend? They said the only way to have structure 
and a stable agricultural market was to increase enforcement of our 
immigration laws, including employer sanctions, and reduce illegal 
immigration:

       Illegal immigration must be curtailed. This should be 
     accomplished with more effective border controls, better 
     internal apprehension mechanisms, and enhanced enforcement of 
     employer sanctions. The U.S. Government should also develop 
     better employment eligibility and identification systems, 
     including fraud-proof work authorization documents for all 
     persons legally authorized to work in the United States so 
     that employer sanctions can more effectively deter the 
     employment of unauthorized workers.

  That is what they recommended. That is what we haven't done. In fact, 
we are in an uproar over this rather minor Sensenbrenner language the 
House put on their bill that deals with national security and a way to 
make ID secure and other matters consistent with recommendations of the 
9/11 Commission. So it appears that the Senate does not want to do that 
but what we want to do is continue to pass these amnesty bills. This 
should not be happening.
  Restoring our ability and commitment to successfully enforce our 
immigration laws is the only long-term solution. A real solution will 
not reward illegal behavior by handing out amnesty to people here 
illegally, but instead will require effective control of our borders, 
active policing in the interior, and participation among all levels of 
law enforcement. Of course, it includes improving the laws that we have 
to allow, where needed, more people to come legally in a system that 
actually works. But to have any system at all, of course, that must be 
created with an enforcement mechanism that works. We have never created 
such a mechanism and now it is time to do so.
  I introduced a bill last Congress--and will introduce, again--that 
would strengthen the United States' ability to enforce our immigration 
laws. The Homeland Security Enhancement Act would clarify for law 
enforcement officers of a State, county, and city that they do have 
authority to enforce immigration violations while carrying out their 
routine duties.
  They don't have authority to deport or try, but they have a 
responsibility, in most instances, to detain people they identify as 
being here in violation of the law and contact Federal officials to 
process that individual after that. They have been told, and been 
confused about, what their authority is. I have written a law review 
article on it, aided by my assistant here, my counsel, Cindy Hayden. We 
researched the law and came to that conclusion.
  The law provides the authority, in virtually every instance, but 
lawyers have confused cities and counties and police and sheriffs, and 
they are not participating in anything the way they would like. We are 
not talking about forcing them to do anything. We are trying to make 
sure we pass legislation that clarifies existing law and makes it clear 
they have the ability to serve and assist our country. It would 
increase the amount of information regarding deportable illegal aliens 
entered into the FBI National Crime Information Center database, making 
the information more readily available to local officials.
  This is a big, big deal. In the hearing Senator Cornyn chaired 
yesterday, we had a person from the Department of Homeland Security who 
is in charge of detention and removal, and what we learned was that 
over 80 percent of the people who are detained, processed and found to 
be here illegally are released on bail while the government arranges 
for their deportation. It is not surprising they don't show up to be 
deported. Even after they are given a hearing and found to be here in 
violation of the law, they are consistently released on bail, and 80 
percent of those don't show up to be deported. Then, we now have some 
400,000 absconders. Now, Mr. President, if a Senator gets a DUI in 
Kansas or someplace and you don't show up for court, they put your name 
in the database, and if you get stopped for speeding somewhere in some 
other State, they will pick it up. So they are a fugitive, but their 
information is not being put into the NCIC.
  I know police officers. I was a prosecutor for over 15 years. I asked 
them about this. They tell me they do not even bother to call the 
Federal Immigration officials if they apprehend someone that is 
illegally here because they won't come and get them. So they have just 
given up. They are prepared to help. What a great asset that would be. 
But, no, we have not seen fit to do that.
  But more importantly, the 400,000 absconders are not in the National 
Crime Information Center computer. So when a State officer apprehends 
someone, and they have a name and they want to run it through the 
wanted persons database they would use for an American citizen, they 
run the birth date, the driver's license, or other identifying 
characteristics, and it tells them whether there is a warrant out for 
their arrest.
  That is how most people are caught today who violate the law and who 
are fugitives. Most of them are caught in simple traffic stops. Don't 
tell them because they will quit speeding. But that is how we catch 
them--when they get in a fight somewhere and the police runs their name 
and there is a warrant out in Texas for them for assault or something.
  We raised Cain last year about that and asked the tough questions of 
a number of the Department officials. They said they would try. So out 
of 400,000, we learned there are about 40,000 of those names they found 
time to put in the NCI Center computer system that is available at 
city, county, and police offices out in the country. That indicates to 
me how confused we are about how to make this system work.
  I want to say this. I absolutely believe that we have one big problem 
on our minds; that is, we think it cannot be done. We think we cannot 
enforce immigration laws, that we might as well just quit. Well, under 
our present way of doing so, that is correct. However, if we create a 
more generous way for people to come here legally that is simple and 
understandable, and if we enhance our enforcement abilities and if we 
quit rewarding those who come illegally, you will begin to see the 
numbers change. As a matter of fact, there is a tipping point out there 
I am absolutely convinced exists.
  If we enhance the enforcement of those who come illegally, we quit 
providing those who are here illegally with benefits, we increase 
border enforcement, and we enhance the way for people to come here 
legally to work, and we make that easier and will get more support from 
countries from which these people come, we can tip this thing. As the 
number that come into the country illegally goes down, and as our 
enforcement effort and officers are increased, you will have a 
tremendous change in the number of enforcement officers per illegal. 
That is when you make progress. That is what happened in crime.
  The crime rate has been dropping for the last 20 years. As it drops, 
we don't fire policemen. We have gotten more policemen per crime, so 
they have more time to work on crime. They are doing a better job of 
apprehending repeat offenders and putting them in jail. The crime rate 
has broken. Instead of going up, as it did in the 1960s and 1970s, it 
has been going down for over 20 years. We can do that here. It will 
affirm America's commitment to the rule of law. To do that, we are 
going to need additional bedspace for detention, and we cannot continue 
to release people who have been apprehended on the street so they just 
disappear again. We have to require the Federal Government to receive 
and process people who have been apprehended by local law enforcement. 
We need to make sure the system provides them a fair hearing, but it 
also needs to be a prompt hearing. If someone is in violation of the 
law, the system should work rapidly and not with great expense. Those 
are some of the things I am concerned about in the bill I have offered. 
But there are many other problems of a similar nature that need to be 
dealt with.

[[Page 6655]]

  We are a nation of immigrants. America openly welcomes legal 
immigrants and new citizens who have the character, integrity, the 
decency, and the work ethic that have made this country great. But they 
are concerned, rightly, about the politicians in Washington who talk as 
though they hear them when they cry out for a system that works, and we 
say we are working on it. What do we do? We came up with an AgJOBS bill 
that absolutely goes in the wrong direction. The same people who are 
supporting that bill, for the most part--although not Senator Larry 
Craig--are opposing my bill, for example, that would enhance law 
enforcement authority for local officers, and they wonder if we have 
any commitment at all here to enforce the law. They have every right to 
do so because I will tell you, from my experience in talking with 
police officers in my State, nothing is being done. Until we put our 
minds to it, nothing will be done.
  How do we go from here? What should we do? In my view, we need to 
pass this emergency supplemental to support our troops. We need to 
reject all immigration amendments on it. We need to follow President 
Bush's lead and have a serious debate and discussion on this issue.
  We need to agree on certain principles about how it will be 
conducted. We are going to have a legal system that works. We are going 
to be humane in how we treat people who come here. We are going to 
consider American needs. It is not going to be an unlimited number. And 
we are going to create a legal system that works.
  We can do that, and we should do that. A lot of work is going on 
toward that end right now. Senator Kyl and Senator Chambliss have a 
major bill to deal with some of these issues. Senator Cornyn, a former 
justice of the Texas Supreme Court, a former attorney general of Texas, 
is doing a real good job in managing the Immigration Subcommittee of 
the Judiciary Committee and is considering all these issues. Then 
sometime later this year, I think, we might as well get serious, bring 
something up and try to make some progress. Who knows, maybe even the 
President should appoint an independent commission of people who 
understand this issue--we have had commissions before--and make some 
specific recommendations about how we ought to proceed. That could 
work, in my view.
  Right now the American people lack confidence in us, and they have 
every right to lack confidence in us because we have created a system 
that is flawed, it is not working. It is an abomination, really.
  I want to share this information with my colleagues. Farmers who are 
supposed to be benefiting from this act, the agriculture workers 
amnesty legislation, do not want it. Maybe some farm groups in 
Washington or lobbyists are for it. Maybe some big agricultural 
entities want it. But I have in my hands an open letter from the 
Southeastern Farmers Coalition. It is signed by a list of organizations 
and individual H-2A program participants, people who utilize farm 
workers from out of the country who are ``the overwhelming majority of 
H-2A program users in the country.''
  The list of signatories to this letter is expansive, including the 
North Carolina Growers Association, the Mid-Atlantic Solutions, the 
Georgia Peach Council, AgWorks, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable 
Association, the Virginia Agricultural Growers Association, the Vidalia 
Onion Business Council--I am sure that is a sweet group--and the 
Kentucky-Tennessee Growers Association.
  The letter states:

       Farmers in the Southeastern United States are opposed to 
     Senate bill S. 1645 introduced by Ted Kennedy and Larry 
     Craig. It is an amnesty for illegal farm-workers. It does not 
     reform the H-2A program. Please oppose this legislation.

  The text of the letter, which asks me to oppose the bill, says:

       [AgJOBS] is nothing more than a veiled amnesty. While 
     everyone, it seems, agrees that the H-2A program desperately 
     needs reform, this legislation does not fix the two most 
     onerous problems with the program: the adverse effect wage 
     rate and the overwhelming litigation brought by Legal 
     Services groups against farmers using the H-2A program.

  In fact, it explicitly provides for more such litigation. The letter 
goes on to say:

       The Craig-Kennedy-Berman reform package provides a private 
     right of action provision that goes far beyond legitimate 
     worker protections and expands Legal Services' attorneys 
     ability to sue growers in several critical areas. These 
     lawyers, who have harassed program users with meritless 
     lawsuits for years, will continue to attack small family 
     farmers under the new statute.

  Supporters of Craig-Kennedy-Berman have endorsed this alleged reform 
believing in a misguided fashion that it will bring stability to the 
agricultural labor market. It will not. It will create greater 
instability. As illegal farm workers earn amnesty, they will abandon 
their farm jobs for work in other industries.
  Continuing this letter:

       Many of the attached signatories have been actively 
     involved in negotiations surrounding this legislation. The 
     following groups have broken ranks with the American Farm 
     Bureau.

  As a matter of fact, I think the Farm Bureau has now switched sides 
on this bill, and they are no longer endorsing it. They are not 
supporting it now. They have changed their position.
  They continue:

       You are likely to hear that the majority of agriculture 
     supports this bill. The industry, in fact, is split.

  But, in fact, the trend has been the other way against it.
  They go on:

       History has demonstrated that the amnesty granted under the 
     Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was a dismal 
     failure for agriculture employers. Farm workers abandoned 
     agricultural employment shortly after gaining amnesty and 
     secured jobs in other industries.

  I also received a letter last week from two growers in Alabama who 
favor improving the ability to utilize foreign workers. They strongly 
support that. But still they asked me to oppose the AgJOBS legislation.
  Tom Bentley of Bentley Farms, which grows, packs, and ships peaches 
from Thorsby, AL, and Henry Williams, head of the Alabama Growers 
Association, write:

       In the coming days, you may be asked to vote on legislation 
     offered by Senator Larry Craig and Senator Edward Kennedy 
     that purports to significantly reform the present H-2A 
     agricultural worker program by providing an earned amnesty to 
     hundreds of thousands of undocumented farm workers now 
     present in the United States.
       Despite claims that this bill is bipartisan and represents 
     the interests of all agricultural employers, growers in the 
     Southeastern United States do not support the passage of this 
     legislation.
       This bill is not H-2A reform as touted, it is simply an 
     amnesty bill for a selected group of workers.

  If farmers who make up a majority of H-2A employers are opposed to 
AgJOBS because it is amnesty for illegal workers and it does not reform 
the H-2A program, why should we pass it? Who supports this amendment? I 
believe the supporters who are advocating it are really not in touch 
with the desires of the American people and the desires of the farmers 
they claim to represent. In fact, I am not sure the authors understand 
just how far this bill goes and just how many serious problems exist 
within it.
  I do not think that I am out of touch with the American people. I 
certainly believe the principles I have advocated are consistent with 
the rule of law that I cherish in our country, and I am troubled to see 
it eroded in this fashion. I believe reform is necessary. I believe we 
can achieve reform. I believe we need to spend some time on it. I do 
not think it can be done piecemeal. I originally thought it had to be 
done comprehensively. Then somebody convinced me we could break it up. 
But the more I look at it, the more I see the nature of it. Why would 
we want to spend all this time on one group of workers, agricultural 
workers? There are other workers who are facing the same challenge. Why 
not fix this problem in a generous way for foreign workers to come and 
work, a generous way to achieve citizenship, a focus on the real needs 
of America, not just laboring immigrants. We need people who have 
Ph.D.s, brain power, scientific people who may cure cancer one

[[Page 6656]]

day. We need more of those kinds of people, too.
  We need to look at it comprehensively. Draw up a system that works. 
But one that allows us to honor the heritage we have been given as 
Americans, the heritage that draws so many people--our heritage of the 
rule of law--is being eroded terribly today.
  I thank the Presiding Officer for the time, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have an amendment that is pending. The 
distinguished majority leader will make the decision as to what votes 
are going to occur on Monday evening. I want to get my debate out of 
the way, hoping this amendment, which is probably germane postcloture--
maybe we could do it at that time and get it over with.
  Over this past recess I had the good fortune to travel to the Middle 
East. I visited Nevada troops in Kuwait before they went to Iraq. It 
was a great trip for me, one I will never forget. But I saw firsthand 
what has been accomplished in the face of very difficult and dangerous 
conditions in Iraq. I was also able to see that every American should 
be very proud of the unheralded service these courageous service men 
and women perform each day.
  The 1864th Transportation Unit from Nevada hauls the goods from 
Kuwait to Iraq. This is where we hear about some vehicles needing more 
armor. These vehicles need more armor, but when they get an order they 
get in the truck and off they go, men and women.
  I also received briefings on the status of our efforts to secure and 
rebuild Iraq. During a helicopter flight over Baghdad, it was very 
clear that big city one time was in shambles. The process of rebuilding 
Iraq has started, thanks to generous assistance of the U.S. taxpayers, 
but a lot of it doesn't show.
  The amendment I offer today seeks to honor the sacrifices of our 
troops and taxpayers on behalf of the Iraqi people and ensures that 
other nations of the world keep their commitment in this worthwhile 
effort.
  I want to spend a few minutes discussing the details of what we and 
other nations around the world are doing to secure and rebuild Iraq.
  Presently, there are more than 150,000 Coalition troops in Iraq. More 
than 130,000 of them are Americans, such as the 1864th I saw in Kuwait 
that drives on a continual basis into the middle of Iraq.
  Since the beginning of this war, more than half a million U.S. 
military personnel have served in Iraq. The story is remarkable. It is 
remarkable because it is similar to the international effort to rebuild 
Iraq.
  While this Nation has appropriated more than $20 billion in direct 
assistance for Iraqi reconstruction, the rest of the world combined has 
produced about half of that. When I say ``produced,'' it is only in 
talk. Even more startling is the fact that the vast majority of the 
commitments made by these other countries have been in the form of 
loans and credits rather than hard cash such as we have provided. In 
short, this Nation has done more than its fair share to secure and 
rebuild Iraq.
  As I noted at the outset, it was clear from my recent trip that a 
great deal more needs to be done in construction, and that is an 
understatement. We are not as far along as the administration promised 
we would be at this point of the conflict; and the cost to the U.S. 
taxpayers of our country for operations in Iraq has far exceeded the 
estimates the administration provided us prior to the start of this 
war.
  The failure of the international community to keep its commitment is 
one reason why reconstruction developments in Iraq have not proceeded 
as they should. According to the State Department's sixth quarterly 
report, the international community has actually delivered only $1 
billion of the $13.5 billion promised.
  As for the cost to the U.S. taxpayers of the Iraq reconstruction, 
administration officials declared that Iraq itself could cover a 
substantial portion of these costs. Shortly after the war started, 
Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz told the House Budget Committee, 
``There's lots of money to pay for this. It doesn't have to be U.S. 
taxpayer money. We are dealing with a country that can easily finance 
its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.'' U.S. AID Director Andrew 
Natsios was even more explicit in his statement nearly a month later:

       The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other 
     countries who have already made pledges, Britain, Germany, 
     Norway, Japan, Canada, and Iraqi oil revenues, eventually in 
     several years, when it's up and running and there's a new 
     government that's been democratically elected, will finish 
     the job with their own revenues. They're going to get in $20 
     billion a year in oil revenues. But the American part of this 
     will be $1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on 
     funding for this.

  I think it's fair for the American people to ask why the Iraq 
reconstruction has not proceeded as promised by this administration? 
Why, when the United States military and our taxpayers have done so 
much, the international community has done so little, failing to keep 
even its relatively modest reconstruction commitment? Any why have the 
administration's statements that the people of Iraq and other nations 
would cover the bulk of that country's reconstruction costs proven to 
be so wrong?
  I think it is time we restored some equity, fairness, and shared 
sacrifice with other nations on the reconstruction efforts.
  I haven't talked about the deaths of our soldiers, the sacrifices 
they have made being wounded. I am talking today only about money. The 
commitment other countries have made has been very small in actual 
personnel, very large in talk and very short in dollars. and our 
taxpayers have more than lived up to their commitment to the people of 
Iraq. It's long past time that the rest of the world do the same. 
That's what my amendment seeks to do.
  My amendment is quite straightforward. This amendment does not affect 
roughly $17 billion of the $20 billion that Congress has appropriated 
for Iraq reconstruction assistance. the administration is free to do 
with that amount as they see fit and when they see fit.
  And it gives the President two clear options that he could take to 
gain access to the remaining $3 billion.
  First, the President can easily gain unfettered access to the 
remaining funds by merely certifying that other nations who have made 
financial commitments to help Iraq at the Madrid Donor's Conference and 
in other donor meetings since 2003 have fulfilled those commitments.
  Second, if the President is unable to make that certification, this 
amendment provides him with yet another way to gain access to and spend 
the remaining funds we have appropriated. he can simply certify to the 
Congress that: No. 1, his representatives have made a good faith effort 
to persuade other nations to follow through on their previous financial 
commitments to Iraq; No. 2, the sale of Iraqi oil or other Iraqi 
sources of revenue should not be used to reimburse the United States 
Government for our reconstruction assistance; and No. 3, despite the 
failure of these other nations to live up to their financial promises 
and the inability of Iraq to reimburse us for a significant portion of 
our reconstruction costs, continued American spending on Iraqi 
reconstruction is in the national security interests of the United 
States.
  These are very simple, clear and straightforward certifications. The 
amendment does not require others to pay for U.S. military operations, 
nor does it seek to shut down the reconstruction process.
  I recall what the military commanders on the ground have said about 
the importance of delivering reconstruction aid as a means of putting a 
dent into the insurgency. As the former Commander of the First Calvary 
in Baghdad often talked about, where reconstruction efforts were 
successful and where the citizens had power, clean water and basic 
services, the attacks against American forces went down.
  Let us be clear. I am not arguing against continuing to help the 
Iraqi people with the reconstruction of their country. I am not in 
favor of putting

[[Page 6657]]

insurmountable hurdles in front of the President as he seeks to carry 
out these efforts.
  Rather, I am simply saying that in light of all that America's troops 
and taxpayers have done for the people of Iraq and the world, it seems 
only reasonable to expect that other nations will live up to their 
commitments and that this administration would want to hold them 
accountable.
  We should be looking for ways to strengthen the President's 
negotiating hand when dealing with these other countries, and that's 
what this amendment does.
  Passing this amendment gives the President greater leverage in 
getting other nations to follow through on their previous commitments. 
The President can cite this Congressional action, highlight the fact 
that the Congress is closely monitoring the international contributions 
coming into Iraq, and let them know that there is growing concern in 
the Congress about their inability to live up to their past promises.
  For those who argue that passing this amendment will slow down the 
reconstruction, nothing could be further from the truth. As I've 
already stated, the State Department and AID cannot spend the money 
they already have.
  Through six quarterly reports, the U.S. has spent only $4.209 billion 
in Iraq, an average of $701.5 million per quarter. At this rate, it 
will take over 5 years for all the money to be spent.
  In other words, at the current pace, the Bush administration would be 
over before we would spend their reconstruction money that we have 
already provided last year.
  If this amendment passes, the reconstruction money will flow 
unaffected for many years, perhaps through the end of President Bush's 
term. At that point, he or a future President merely needs to issue a 
certification to ensure the continued flow of the money.
  Iraq needs to become the world's concern, not strictly our concern. 
We owe that to our soldiers and to the American taxpayers who have been 
both patient and generous and have borne an unusually high burden. If 
you want to support the troops, our taxpayers, and give the 
administration the leverage to get the rest of the world to live up to 
their commitments, this amendment should be supported.


                                highways

  Briefly, we need to a highway bill. We have received all kinds of 
letters from different entities saying we must do a highway bill. 
According to a report by the American Association of State Highway and 
Transportation officials, the uncertainty caused by the short-term 
extensions to the surface transportation program has cost billions of 
dollars in project delays and thousand and thousands of jobs. This is 
an alarm.
  I have letters from over 20 groups ranging from state and local 
governments to major trade associations, all urging immediate 
consideration of this important bill. When we finish the supplemental, 
I urge the majority leader to move forward on the highway bill.
  Yesterday, Senators Baucus, Inouye, Jeffords, Sarbanes, and I sent a 
letter to the majority leader requesting that he bring the surface 
transportation reauthorization bill to the floor for consideration 
prior to the completion of this April work period. I hope we can do 
that. It is so important.
  Senator Baucus and Senator Bond, the people leading that 
subcommittee, have done a wonderful job. We have a bill ready to go. I 
hope we can do that soon.
  I ask unanimous consent a letter from 18 trade associations be 
printed in the Record in addition to a letter from virtually all State 
and local government organizations, the National Governors Association, 
and the letter I previously mentioned from the Democratic leaders.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                   April 13, 2005.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     Democratic Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Frist and Reid: With the 109th Congress well 
     underway, we urge you to schedule Senate floor consideration 
     of legislation to reauthorize the federal highway and transit 
     programs for this month. The Transportation Equity Act for 
     the 21st Century (TEA-21) expired September 30, 2003, and the 
     programs continue to operate under a series of extensions. 
     The Senate has repeatedly expressed its will about the 
     importance of addressing the nation's transportation 
     challenges and there is no substantive reason to delay 
     consideration of this bill.
       TEA-21 reauthorization may be one of the few measures the 
     Senate will consider this year that will pass with 
     overwhelming bipartisan support. This board support, combined 
     with the May 31 expiration of the latest short-term extension 
     of the highway and transit program, presents a compelling 
     case for Senate action so that conference negotiations may 
     begin with the House of Representatives, which approved its 
     multi-year reauthorization bill March 10.
       The nation's surface transportation infrastructure needs 
     and safety concerns continue to grow, yet lack of a long-term 
     funding commitment by the Federal government is impeding 
     states' ability to plan and let transportation improvement 
     projects that will help create American jobs, ease pollution 
     creating traffic congestion and address highway safety. With 
     substantial groundwork completed on TEA-21 reauthorization 
     over the last two years, the authorizing committees with 
     jurisdiction over the legislation are well prepared for 
     Senate consideration of a reauthorization bill.
       We urge you to schedule TEA-21 reauthorization legislation 
     for Senate floor action as soon as possible and allow the 
     Senate to again work its will on this critical matter.
           Sincerely,
         American Road & Transportation Builders Association, 
           Associated General Contractors of America, U.S. Chamber 
           of Commerce, American Association of State Highway & 
           Transportation Officials, Associated Equipment 
           Distributors, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, 
           International Union of Operating Engineers, National 
           Ready Mixed Concrete Association, American Public 
           Transportation Association, American Concrete Pipe 
           Association, American Concrete Pavement Association, 
           National Utility Contractors Association, Portland 
           Cement Association, National Asphalt Pavement 
           Association, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and 
           Joiners of America, American Society of Civil 
           Engineers, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, 
           Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust.
                                  ____

                                                   April 12, 2005.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Office of the Senate Majority Leader, Capitol Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Majority Leader Frist: On behalf of the nation's state 
     and local governments, we want to take this opportunity to 
     urge you to schedule consideration of SAFETEA, the Senate 
     version of the reauthorization of the highway and transit 
     programs, at the earliest possible date. This legislation 
     needs to be passed by the Senate and sent to a conference 
     committee as soon as possible. As you know, TEA-21 expired on 
     September 30, 2003 and the current extension expires on May 
     31, 2005. In order to plan for, maintain, and build our 
     nation's transportation infrastructure, state and local 
     governments need a multi-year reauthorization passed in the 
     very near term.
       Thank you for your consideration to this matter.
           Respectfully,
     Raymond C. Scheppach,
       Executive Director, National Governors' Association.
     William T. Pound,
       Executive Director, National Conference of State 
     Legislatures.
     Daniel M. Sprague,
       Executive Director, Council of State Government.
     Larry E. Naake,
       Executive Director, National Association of Counties.
     J. Thomas Cochran,
       Executive Director, U.S. Conference of Mayors.
     Donald J. Borut,
       Executive Director, National League of Cities.
     Robert O'Neil,
       Executive Director, International City/County Management 
     Association.

[[Page 6658]]

     
                                  ____
                               National Governors Association,

                                   Washington, DC, April 14, 2005.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     Minority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Frist and Senator Reid: On behalf of the 
     nation's governors, we write to urge the Senate to complete 
     action on the surface transportation reauthorization bill and 
     begin conference before the current extension expires on May 
     31, 2005. Congress' series of successive short-term 
     extensions of TEA-21 have burdened State transportation 
     planning and programming, and can only be addressed by 
     passing a long-term bill.
       We encourage the Senate to consider and expeditiously 
     complete its work on S. 732 so that the Senate and House 
     bills may be conferenced and a law enacted.
       Additional information and specifics regarding the 
     governors' position on surface transportation reauthorization 
     can be found in the attached NGA Policy which was revised and 
     reaffirmed on March 1, 2005 at the NGA Winter Meeting.
           Sincerely.
     Mark R. Warner,
                                             Governor of Virginia.
     Mike Huckabee,
     Governor of Arkansas.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                   Washington, DC, April 14, 2005.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Majority Leader,
     U.S. Senate.
       Dear Majority Leader: We write to request floor 
     consideration of the surface transportation reauthorization 
     bill prior to the completion of this April work period.
       As you know, a well-maintained surface transportation 
     system is critical to our nation's economy. Long-term 
     transportation planning is essential to the continued 
     maintenance and improvement of the system. Unfortunately, for 
     the past 18 months, the Federal surface transportation 
     program has operated under a series of short-term extensions 
     denying states the ability to make and to execute long-term 
     transportation plans.
       Because of this continuing uncertainty, many states have 
     had to slow or to stop entirely progress on many important 
     transportation projects. Further extensions will only 
     exacerbate these delays costing billions of dollars in 
     project delays and thousands of jobs.
       The current program extension expires on May 31, 2005. In 
     order to complete work on this important legislation before 
     this deadline, the full Senate must consider the measure 
     prior to the end of the April work period. Recognizing this 
     urgency, each of the committees of jurisdiction will be ready 
     for Senate floor debate in the near future.
       We are ready and committed to moving this process forward 
     in the bipartisan spirit this bill has traditionally enjoyed. 
     We look forward to an open and vigorous debate of the surface 
     transportation reauthorization before the end of this April 
     work period.
           Sincerely,
     Harry Reid,
     Max Baucus,
     Daniel Inouye,
     Jim Jeffords,
     Paul Sarbanes.

  As we all know, the current Federal surface transportation program 
expired 18 months ago, and the program has operated under a series of 
short term extensions since then, with the latest set to expire on May 
31 of this year. While these extensions have helped the Federal program 
limp along, they have denied States the ability to make long-term 
transportation planning decisions essential to the continued 
maintenance and improvement of the system. In addition, the lack of a 
permanent reauthorization bill has caused many States to slow or stop 
entirely progress on many important transportation projects.
  According to a report by the American Association of State Highway 
and Transportation Officials, the uncertainty caused by the short term 
extensions has cost billions of dollars in project delays and thousands 
of jobs.
  Mr. President, I stand ready and committed to moving this process 
forward in the bipartisan spirit that this bill has always enjoyed. I 
urge the majority leader to bring the surface transportation 
reauthorization bill up for floor consideration before the end of the 
April work period for the good of the country and the workers that so 
desperately depend upon its future.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, earlier this week I was proud to submit 
into the Record several e-mails from the more than 2,000 I had received 
from military families around the country. These e-mails detailed the 
proud service that America's military families make every day. The e-
mails are full of their pride and understanding of service. And I know 
my colleagues join me in expressing our thanks to them for all they do.
  I submitted these e-mails because they put a human face on the 
sacrifices we speak about so often. I have come to learn that one of 
the stories relayed to me about a Home Depot employee does not reflect 
Home Depot's policies. In fact, Home Depot is a strong supporter of its 
mobilized employees. The company was recognized last year by the 
Department of Defense for its support to service members, including a 
program to give hiring preferences to injured service members who want 
to work for the company. Its ``Project Home Front'' contributed tools 
and volunteers to help military spouses make home repairs while their 
loved ones were deployed. And, as a model for others to emulate, Home 
Depot makes up any salary lost by mobilized employees. I am happy to 
set the record straight on the contributions Home Depot makes to the 
brave Americans who work for it and serve in the National Guard and 
Reserves. I regret the unfortunate oversight and thank Home Depot for 
their support of America's military.
  The stories we received are snapshots of what service means to 
families across this great land. America's military families are 
partners in the defense of this country and we have to listen to them. 
Taking care of their needs is not sentimentalism it's a practical 
investment in our national security. Given the millions spent to 
recruit and train the men and women of the United States military, our 
modest investment in military families is a smart way to retain the 
force.
  I thank my colleagues for their continued interest and support on 
these issues, and I thank Home Depot for its support of America's 
heroes.

                          ____________________