Howard Berman: “we have a guest worker program. It is now called the H-2A program, it used to be called the H-2 program. It has certain…”

“we have a guest worker program. It is now called the H-2A program, it used to be called the H-2 program. It has certain conditions. This year, 17,000 agricultural workers came in under those requirements. The difference between 17,000 and it shooting up in the case of your amendment to the 100,000 cap is the balance and retention between the potential for domestic workers. The moment you cut off the requirement to hire 20 days before the season starts, in every situation what you will find is the department saying, ``Since I can't promise them X number of workers when that season starts, I'm going to have to grant his petition. The only thing that keeps this process honest is the requirement to continue to recruit, to prioritize and hire U.S. workers if they show up, and to hire them at any point 50 percent through the season. Fifty percent through the season was done for the benefit of the growers. Once the guy had been there for 50 percent of the time, do not displace him because somebody now showed up. Let them finish the entire season. You are taking what was done for the benefit of the growers and you are totally repealing it, and that is the big problem I have with your amendment.”