FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL LABOR JULY 27, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. COOLEY, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5557] The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5557) to provide for coordination of arrangements for the employment of agricultural workers, admitted for temporary agricultural employment from foreign countries in the Western Hemisphere, to assure that the migration of such workers will be limited to the minimum numbers required to meet domestic labor shortages and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. STATEMENT The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Federal Security Administrator through the Farm Placement Service to coordinate and supervise the use of foreign agricultural workers on temporary employment in the United States when and if it is determined that such workers are needed to supplement the domestic labor forces. The legislation is not designed to authorize or encourage the admission of any foreign workers into the United States. The authority either to admit or to deny the entrance of such workers into the United States is now provided for under existing immigration statutes and this legislation does not affect those statutes in any respect. A law authorizing the Federal Security Administrator to recruit farm workers in the Western Hemisphere and to "direct, supervise, coordinate, and provide for the transportation of such workers" was enacted by the Eightieth Congress (Act of July 3, 1948; Public Law 892, 80th Cong.). This act also set up a revolving fund of $2,500,000 to be used for the payment of expenses for transportation, lodging, and subsistence in connection with the migration and utilization of H. Repts., 81-1, vol. 5- -64 foreign workers, with the proviso that the entire expense of such activities should be borne by the employers and that the revolving fund should be reimbursed for any expenditures made. This law expired June 30, 1949. The bill herewith reported is considerably more restricted than Public Law 893, Eightieth Congress. It merely authorizes the Federal Security Administrator to "supervise and coordinate" the use of foreign agricultural workers, to require assurances that there will be no adverse effect on wages and working conditions of domestic workers, to cooperate with the Secretary of State in negotiating agreements with foreign governments relating to the importation of temporary agricultural workers and to assist in carrying out such agreements. The bill specifically provides that no financial obligation shall be imposed upon or assumed by the United States under any agreement entered into in carrying out the provisions of the legislation. DEPARTMENT REPORT The legislation embodied in this bill was requested by Executive Communication No. 707, of June 21, 1949, from J. Donald Kingsley, Acting Administrator of the Federal Security Agency to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. At the hearing on the bill, a representative of the Department of Agriculture testified that the Department considers the legislation necessary and is in favor of its enactment. A copy of Executive Communication No. 707 of June 21, 1949, is appended hereto and made a part of this report. FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY, The Honorable the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I am enclosing for your consideration proposed legislation which is designed to assure needed governmental supervision and coordination of the contracting of foreign workers from foreign countries for temporary agricultural employment in the United States when and if it is determined that such workers are needed to supplement the domestic labor force. It should be clearly understood that this legislation is not designed to authorize or encourage the admission of any foreign workers into the United States. The authority to either admit or deny the entrance of such workers into the United States is now provided for under existing immigration statutes. This legislation does not affect in any respect those statutes. The purpose of this legislation is basically to assure that when workers are admitted under the immigration statutes for temporary agricultural employment in the United States there be adequate safeguards to protect the interests of domestic labor and at the same time to assure that the contractual guarantees made by employees to foreign workers are carried out. The problem of assuring an adequate supply of farm labor to harvest specific crops in specific areas at specific times is one which is fraught with many uncertainties and is affected by a variety of uncontrollable factors. While a stringent labor market invariably results in a shortage of farm labor, the general loosening of the labor market does not, on the other hand, assure that adequate farm labor will be obtainable to meet specific needs. Similarly, the slackening in employment in industrial areas does not necessarily bring forth workers with required farm experience or workers who are willing and able to perform the type of work which is required in the various agricultural activities and in the area in which they are needed. On the basis of the present-day farm labor outlook there will probably be a need to supplement the domestic labor supply for certain types of agricultural activities for the next 18 months, that is, through the 1950 harvest season. In the past, such additional labor when needed has been obtained from other countries in the Western Hemisphere. The importation of foreign labor, however, when permitted to meet legitimate labor shortages, must be carefully controlled and closely supervised. There must be adequate assurances that the importation of such workers be kept to the absolute minimum consistent with the extent and nature of the labor shortages which occasioned the importation, and that no reserve pools of foreign labor are formed. It is equally important to assure that the wage rates paid and the working conditions offered to such workers will not adversely affect the prevailing wage rates and the conditions of work in the area in which such workers are employed. The treatment of foreign nationals while employed in the United States also entails delicate international relationships and requires governmental supervision in order that the rights of these workers be adequately protected. The United States is now negotiating an international agreement with the Government of Mexico to establish the principles and procedures governing the temporary admission of Mexican nationals for agricultural employment in the United States when and if it is determined that such labor is required and their admission is permitted under the immigration laws. Under authority provided in Public Law 893 the United States Employment Service would be responsible through this international agreement for certain supervisory activities and would be required to participate in conciliation machinery established under the terms of the international agreement to hear grievances between employer and employees for alleged violations of the individual work contract and the international agreement. Inextricably related to this program is the problem of reducing the illegal entry of Mexicans into the United States. It is believed that the negotiation of this Agreement and its successful consummation will materially aid in reducing the employment of such illegal entrants in this country. If agricultural employers who need and cannot obtain domestic workers have a legitimate source to look to for meeting their labor requirements, their reason for resorting to the employment of illegal labor will be removed. It is obvious, of course, that the large number of illegal entrants now employed in the United States is seriously affecting the wages and working conditions of domestic labor in those areas. Equally important is the fact that large numbers of Mexican nationals who are illegally in the United States are paid substandard wage rates, are working under substandard conditions, and are living in a state of quasi-peonage because of the fear of disclosure. I firmly believe that the negotiation of an international agreement with Mexico, under which an orderly procedure is established to control the entrance of foreign laborers and to spell out the terms and conditions under which they are employed in the United States, can have only a beneficial effect on the economies of both the United States and Mexico and at the same time protect the immediate interests of the Mexican workers and domestic workers. The United States Employment Service in this Agency is the appropriate Government unit to supervise and coordinate the contracting for these foreign workers. Effective January 1, 1948, the farm placement functions were returned to the United States Employment Service under the provisions of Public Law 40, Eightieth Congress, approved April 28, 1947. In recognition of the need for legislation to supply needed governmental supervision and coordination of foreign agricultural workers, the Eightieth Congress enacted Public Law 893, approved July 3, 1948. That act expires June 30, 1949. We believe for the reasons given above that it is imperative that the basic authority in Public Law 893 be extended by enactment of the legislation here proposed. I shall appreciate it if you would refer this proposal to the proper committee. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there would be no objection to the submission of this legislative proposal to the Congress. Sincerely yours. STIMULATING THE EXPLORATION FOR STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL ORES, METALS, AND MINERALS JULY 27, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. ENGLE of California, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5725] The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5725) to stimulate the exploration for strategic and critical ores, metals, and minerals, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 3, line 21, strike out the period, insert a colon, and add the following: Provided further, That contributions by the United States shall not exceed $250,000 for a particular project during each twelve-month period. Page 4, line 22, delete the figure "$15,000,000" and insert in lieu thereof the following: "$20,000,000 per annum". EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The bill is intended to provide means of encouraging the maximum exploration by private enterprise for domestic ores of strategic and critical minerals and metals. For the purposes of the act "domestic" includes the United States together with its Territories and possessions. The pending bill provides for contributions by the United States for exploration projects for those ores, metals, or minerals included in group 1-a of the Munitions Board list of strategic and critical materials which are defined as comprising those strategic and critical materials for which stock piling is deemed necessary to insure an adequate supply for a future emergency (a) primarily because of a dependence on foreign sources of supply or (b) primarily because of the lack of the means for obtaining adequate domestic production to meet emergency needs. |