Robert Smith: “as we take up the Omnibus appropriations bill, I would like to take this opportunity to express my extreme…”

“as we take up the Omnibus appropriations bill, I would like to take this opportunity to express my extreme disappointment that the Agricultural Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act amendment, known as AgJOBS, was eliminated from the Omnibus bill. The bipartisan AgJOBS amendment received a veto proof majority vote of 68-31 when it was added to the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill earlier this year. We had a golden opportunity to reform the current bureaucratic H-2A immigrant visa program that has made fugitives out of farmworkers and felons out of farmers. The amendment would have created a workable system for recruiting farm workers domestically and preventing our American crops from rotting in the fields. Unfortuantely, the Clinton Administration was content with the status quo and threatened to veto the Omnibus bill if the balanced AgJOBS amendment was included. Mr. President, I find the Administration's veto threat quite troubling since the Omnibus appropriations bill contains a multi- billion dollar disaster relief package for traditional program-crop agriculture to help deal with losses sustained as a result of the world financial crisis.”