H-2C Guestworker Program Pt 1
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. A bill intended to replace and improve the H-2A guestworker visa program has made an important step forward in the House of Representatives ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "The Agricultural Guestworker Act, the AG Act passed out of the Judiciary which was actually a pretty significant hurdle to get that done. So, I'm pleased that we were able to move the bill forward. It's really seen, by most of agriculture, as a mechanism to get needed immigration reform accomplished."
Representative Dan Newhouse says currently, the bill isn't perfect, but hopes the necessary changes can be made moving forward ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "There's some things that are in it that cause some people pause that could be improved, but getting it out of committee was a significant step and, you know, that's just one step in a process that we needed to take. Now we can, certainly, continue working on it, getting it perfected, getting it passed out of the House, which I hope we can do, and moved on to the Senate."
The Sunnyside Republican says it's all part of the process of fixing things that need fixed ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "It really is a step, I think, in the right direction to fix the, what I would call, a broken H-2A system that really has not been able to effectively provide the necessary workforce that we need in agriculture."
Listen tomorrow to hear what Newhouse thinks are some of the potential changes and rewriting that are likely needed to move the bill forward to the Senate and beyond.
