The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act of 2009 has been re-introduced in the 111th Congress in both the House (H.R. 2414) and Senate (S.1038).
It is substantively the same legislation that has been championed in the past, with relatively minor modifications. Senator Dianne Feinstein is the sponsor in the Senate with Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Adam Putnam (R-FL) co-authoring in the House. The major effort being undertaken at this point is to build cosponsor support.
Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to support AgJOBS!
The debate over modifying current immigration laws has been elevated because President Obama has publicly signaled his interest in addressing this issue. Key Congressional delegations, including the Hispanic Caucus, have also echoed their interest in working to solve immigration this Congress. Given the new political dynamics, AgJOBS will most likely have to move as part of a comprehensive immigration reform package.
Background
During the 110th Congress, both the House and Senate introduced companion bills known as The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act of 2007 , also referred to as AgJOBS (H.R. 371 and S. 340). AgJOBS is legislation that addresses the specific labor needs of the agriculture industry. During the 110th Congress, the provisions of these broadly-supported bills were also incorporated into larger comprehensive immigration bills. If passed into law, AgJOBS would achieve historic reforms to our nation's labor and immigration laws as they pertain to agriculture.
The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act of 2007, "AgJOBS", attracted bipartisan support in the 110th Congress with 58 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and 30 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate.
AgJOBS would achieve historic reforms to our nation's labor and immigration laws as they pertain to agriculture. The legislation reflects years of negotiations on complex and contentious issues among employer and worker representatives and leaders in Congress. In particular, AgJOBS restructures and reforms the current H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. This is accomplished by:
- Substantially streamlining the program's administrative procedures, including eliminating the labor certification process
- Reforming the requirements for H-2A employers, including an immediate reduction and gradual elimination of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate
- Streamlining the process for admission of H-2A aliens
- Allowing aliens not currently in the program to acquire H-2A status
In the Senate, the introduction of AgJOBS was followed by an effort by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), to address the crisis in agriculture through a more targeted bill called the Emergency Agriculture Relief Act. This legislation is very similar to AgJOBS, except that it eliminates any path to citizenship for temporary workers currently residing in the U.S. without proper documentation.
Action
United Fresh urges Members of Congress to support an immediate legislative solution establishing a legal labor force in America. This solution would include sound agriculture provisions, pragmatic temporary worker programs, realistic approaches to the current undocumented workforce in the United States and reasonable employment verification requirements.
Please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to support legislation that provides a common-sense solution to the agriculture labor crisis and encompasses the provisions of previously-introduced AgJOBS legislation.
Additional Resources
|
