Thread: HEADS UP! Ag Jobs likely to come up in Senate next week

As per Kevin James, on his radio show, he announced just now (1:55 am ET), that Ag Jobs will come up next week as a STAND ALONE BILL (just as the DREAM Act was). This is so Harry Reid can try a "fast jamb down your throats" amnesty, which fortunately wasn't successful for the DREAM Act but he will try again, now with Ag jobs.

Lock & Load, buckle up...start calling and faxing and e-mailing NOW. If Kevin James is right, there isn't much time to head this one off.

FYI: I think Kevin was reading from the FAIR alert. I think at this time AgJOBS "has been resurrected as an 'add-on' to the proposed 2008 Farm Bill."

Anyway, the five-year farm bill was just approved unanimously by the Senate Agriculture Committee, and will move to the Senate floor next week. We do not want Sen. Feinstein's & Craig's huge "AgJOBS' amnesty attached to this.

If you have the chance, please call a couple of the senators on Agriculture Committee and advise that you oppose "AgJOBS" and do not want it added to the Farm Bill. Here is the list of senators on this committee:

http://agriculture.senate.gov/sen.htm

Thanks!

Populist. I think the scheme here is this. Farm state senators are asking Reid to keep Ag Jobs off the Farm Bill because of the contentious amnesty provision in it. So as to not unnecessarily jeopardize the Farm Bill, he will present Ag Jobs as a stand alone bill. I could be wrong on this but this is the way I'm thinking now.

In any even, ALIPAC'ers need to start mobilizing against Ag Jobs now, because we could see it as a stand alone or an amendment in potentially less than a week.

You're right. Let's start with the Ag Committee. Tell them that the Farm Bill is an important piece of legislation that should not be jeopardized by the Ag Jobs amnesty amendment. Ask them to reject adding the Ag Jobs amendment onto it.

Standing at the ready. Will start in the a.m. Don't these dummies ever give up? No means No. I don't care what kind of amnesty they try to sneak past the American people its still going to be the same over and over again. These illegals need to go home and do their demanding in their own countries of origin.

Thanks for jumpin in LadyStClaire. We appreciate your involvement.

Thanks LadyStClaire and good thinking zeezil. We should start against this now. I just found something about the Bush administration apparently not supporting AgJOBS. Once I find more, I'll post...

Populist wrote:

Thanks LadyStClaire and good thinking zeezil. We should start against this now. I just found something about the Bush administration apparently not supporting AgJOBS. Once I find more, I'll post...

Yeah, I don't believe Bush is that interested in legalizing the millions of farm workers the AgJOBS bill allows. I think he wants them as so-called temporary workers. That is why his administration is currently working on revising the H-2A program. One thing is for certain though, and that is that Bush supports "cheap" farm labor.

Originally Posted by MW

Populist wrote:

Thanks LadyStClaire and good thinking zeezil. We should start against this now. I just found something about the Bush administration apparently not supporting AgJOBS. Once I find more, I'll post...

Yeah, I don't believe Bush is that interested in legalizing the millions of farm workers the AgJOBS bill allows. I think he wants them as so-called temporary workers. That is why his administration is currently working on revising the H-2A program. One thing is for certain though, and that is that Bush supports "cheap" farm labor.

Yup; most reports state something to the effect of the Bush administration is rewriting federal regulations "to accommodate employers' needs, that forgo the promise of permanent residency for agricultural workers."

Originally Posted by Populist

Originally Posted by MW

Populist wrote:

Thanks LadyStClaire and good thinking zeezil. We should start against this now. I just found something about the Bush administration apparently not supporting AgJOBS. Once I find more, I'll post...

Yeah, I don't believe Bush is that interested in legalizing the millions of farm workers the AgJOBS bill allows. I think he wants them as so-called temporary workers. That is why his administration is currently working on revising the H-2A program. One thing is for certain though, and that is that Bush supports "cheap" farm labor.

Yup; most reports state something to the effect of the Bush administration is rewriting federal regulations "to accommodate employers' needs, that forgo the promise of permanent residency for agricultural workers."

We need to shine a light on the feds "re-writing federal visa regulations" to the advantage of big business and corporate interests. I'ts obviously a run-around of the legislative process and I'm sure is to the detriment of the American worker. Anything anyone finds, please post here so we can all be informed as to what the corrupt administration is doing!

From: National Journal's CongressDaily, October 24, 2007

(see last two paragraphs)

Senate Farm Bill Takes Different Path Than House Version

The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled today to mark up a 2007 farm bill similar to the House bill passed in late July, but with some differences in crop loan rates and target prices.
Other differences include adding an optional crop program based on payments when crop revenue goes down, more money for specialty crops and a new name for the food stamp program that differs from what the House chose.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Harkin posted the draft of his bill on the committee Web site Tuesday.

Senators indicated that amendments are more likely to be offered when the bill gets to the Senate floor than in committee.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., a former Agriculture Committee chairman, introduced an alternative farm bill Tuesday, but said he would not offer it during the markup.

Behind the scenes, several farm groups and the crop insurance industry have expressed reservations about Harkin's proposal to offer farmers an option of forsaking the combination of direct payments, countercyclical payments and marketing loans for a new average crop revenue program that would make smaller direct payments, combined with bigger payments when revenue from a crop goes down in a state.

One lobbyist said farm groups had gotten their marching orders from key senators on the committee to help the markup go forward or face a cold shoulder when the bill gets into conference with the House.

The commodity title leaves the target price and loan rate for corn the same as the 2002 farm bill, but makes changes in other crop target prices and loan rates. In most cases, the Senate bill increases crop assistance more than the House would.

The commodity title contains a section for fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops that includes $365 million in grants to state governments for specialty crop research and promotion, a census of specialty crops, organic data collection, a foreign market access study and $15 million for payments to asparagus growers who have lost business due to import competition from 2004-07.

Growers of commodities such as cotton and wheat have not been enthusiastic about the diversion of commodity title money to specialty crops. But one lobbyist said Tuesday including specialty crops in the commodity title rather than in other titles of the bill would make them part of the coalition to lobby for money for the commodity title in the future.

The nutrition title would change the title of the food stamp program to the "Food and Nutrition Program," while the House-passed bill would change the name to the "Secure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program."

Both committees are interested in changing the name because food benefits are delivered through electronic benefit transfer cards and the term "food stamps" has historically negative connotations for many potential beneficiaries.

Harkin's draft would add $4.2 billion to the nutrition programs, the same as the House bill, but would put more money into fruit and vegetable distribution programs and not increase food stamp benefits by as much as the House bill would.

There is increasing talk in the Senate about attempting to add the AgJobs immigration bill to the farm bill when it reaches the Senate floor.

American Farm Bureau Federation lobbyist Mark Maslyn said the group would be open to adding AgJobs if it would not derail the farm bill.

Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner said Tuesday the Bush administration would oppose adding AgJobs. "The farm bill should be more limited in scope," avoiding jurisdictional issues that would arise from putting immigration policy into farm law, Conner said, Bloomberg News reported. By Jerry Hagstrom