H-2A Changes & Obama's Controversial Speech

H-2A Changes & Obama’s Controversial Speech plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

What many people saw as a way for Obama to push his agenda turned out to be nothing more than a well put rah-rah speech to the nation’s students.

OBAMA: But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

The speech raised the dander of many American’s even before they knew what was in the text prompting some parents to keep their kids home from school.

The Labor Department, once again, wants to change the H-2A guest worker program which makes it easier for farmers to hire temporary foreign farm workers. The agency is proposing a new rule that would boost wages and increase safeguards for thousands of seasonal workers brought in each year to help farmers pick their crops. The same jobs most Americans don’t want. Earlier this year the Labor Department tried to suspend the Bush rule, but farm groups successfully challenged the decision in federal court.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

There are many clichés one could use to describe the health care reform debate; a Pandora’s Box, a smoking gun, an accident waiting to happen, well you get the idea. All would seem to apply, but the fact is a health care reform for our nation is long overdue. Insurance has become a “luxury” that most families and small business owners can no longer afford. When it comes to either being able to put food on the table and a roof over our heads or paying high insurance premiums and co pays, there is no question as to which takes precedence. People in rural America are more apt to be without health insurance coverage or pay more than their urban neighbors if they do have insurance. As Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has stated “It is an issue that affects farmers and ranchers in a very significant way.” More than fifty percent of farmers and ranchers have to work off-farm jobs in order to buy health insurance. We have to act now and get our nation’s health care costs under control and our citizens insured. Basic health care in one of the richest nations in the free world shouldn’t be considered a luxury.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.