Congress reviews AG Act’s Guest Worker Program

In today’s home grown segment we take a look at one of the challenges that our region deals with in agriculture.

Recent statistics have shown an increase in manufacturing jobs in the United States. As more people move into manufacturing jobs there are less people moving into labor intensive jobs.

Talking to us more about a new program called the H-2C, a Guest Worker Program in the AG Act, being currently reviewed by Congress, 13 on your side spoke to former Chair of Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources and also Former Member of the Arizona House of Representatives, Russell Jones to find out more about this program in the works.

“I think what it’s going to address most importantly is if we can keep inflation down, particularly as it pertains to the Ag and food products and if our cost of food go up as other costs go up than we have to deal with inflation in the united states,” Jones said.

This program is a complicated balancing act between bringing in more agriculture workers and at the same time managing the overall cost of produce so that it remains affordable for americans.

“If we can’t find an alternative work force to augment our own, then we are going to find that a lot of what we eat just like most everything we wear is going to come from another country,” he said.

This Guest Worker bill is all about helping to keep agriculture here in the Yuma region and allow the cost of agriculture to remain affordable.

Before Congress adjourns in late July we may see this bill come to the floor where it will then either pass or be reworked.

We will keep you posted on the status of this Guest Worker program apart of the AG Act as it moves forward and is debated in Congress.