IABRN — Republican lawmakers presented an agricultural guest worker bill.
Representative Ted Yoho (R-FL) on Wednesday introduced the “Labor Certainty for Food Security Act.” The proposed legislation seeks to “bring relief to America’s farmers and ranchers who are struggling to find steady, reliable labor” by keeping guest workers separate from immigration affairs.
“It doesn’t prevent them from becoming a citizen; it’s not a pathway to citizenship. It allows them to become legal in this country. From that point, they can apply for citizenship,” Yoho said.
Under the “Labor Certainty for Food Security Act,” agriculture visa authority would be transferred from the Department of Labor to Department of Agriculture, and worker caps and wage requirements would be dropped.
“People are automatically enrolled into the e-verify system before they come into the country. We also deal with the group of people that are in this country illegally. We allow them to get into this program,” Yoho said.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue looks forward to working alongside Congressional leaders to address this important issue.
“One of the other issues we have to deal with is a stable, reliable Ag labor workforce, in order to maintain the best and most competitive agricultural sector in the world,” Secretary Perdue said.
Democratic lawmakers earlier introduced the “Farm Workfoce Modernization Act,” which “contains provisions related to alien farmworkers, including provisions establishing a certified agricultural worker (CAW) and changing the H-2A temporary worker program.”
This article originally appeared on the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network
