May 8, 2013
www.gfb.org
Vol. 31 No. 19
AG LABOR BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE A bill aimed at providing farmers with access to reliable sources of labor was introduced in the House on April 26, a day after a comprehensive immigration bill was submitted in the Senate. The Agricultural Guestworker (AG) Act (HR 1773) was introduced in the House on April 26 by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) with eight cosponsors, including Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.). It was initially referred to multiple House committees, including the committee on the Judiciary, for which Goodlatte serves as chairman. According to a release from Goodlatte, the AG Act would establish a new guest worker program, which would make American growers more competitive in the global economy by removing the exorbitant costs associated with abusive litigation, excessive regulation and artificially high, government-imposed wage rates. The bill would eliminate many administrative hurdles farmers face in acquiring migrant laborers by establishing an agricultural employer registry. “It is vital that American farmers have access to a workable guest worker program now so that they can continue putting food on Americans’ tables. We have to get this right so that farmers aren’t burdened with another failed guest worker program for decades to come,” Goodlatte said in the release. Georgia Farm Bureau supports addressing immigration and agricultural labor issues at the federal level, maintaining that variations between state laws create competitive imbalances between farmers in differing states. In recent years, members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation have introduced bills aimed at providing relief to farmers struggling to acquire the workers they need. Neither Rep. Jack Kingston’s BARN Act nor Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ HARVEST Act in the 112th Congress gained enough support to warrant a floor vote. The House bill aims to protect farmers from frivolous and abusive litigation by allowing growers to require as a condition of employment that guest workers be subject to binding arbitration and mediation of grievances over the employment relationship. The AG Act installs a prevailing wage rate system to replace the current adverse effective wage rate (AEWR) system Like the Senate bill, HR 1773 tabs the USDA to administer the program rather than the Department of Labor. Under the Ag Act guest workers would not be eligible for benefits under the Affordable Care Act, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, or other welfare programs.