through the United States Department of Labor and its affiliated public employment offices. Subsection (b) of this section authorizes the Secretary temporarily to maintain these foreign agricultural workers in reception centers, both in the country of recruitment and in the United States; to provide reasonable subsistence during those periods when they are being transported at the expense of the United States, and to provide them with emergency medical care and burial expenses from the time they report for transportation to the United States until their return to the place of recruitment. Subsection (c) of section 1 authorizes the Secretary of Labor to provide for the recruitment of domestic workers and for the transportation of such workers and their families within the United States. The Secretary of Labor is authorized to provide subsistence and emergency medical care for these workers and their families while they are being transported to and from the places of employment. This subsection will permit the recruitment of Hawaiian and Puerto Rican workers and the payment of their transportation to and from Hawaii and Puerto Rico since later in the bill the term "United States" is defined for the purpose of this subsection to include those territories. In all of the above, it is intended that the Secretary shall exercise the authority granted him only to the extent that he determines it to be necessary and under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe by regulation or otherwise. It is contemplated that such terms and conditions may include requirements that employers shall reimburse the Government in whole or in part for transportation and other expenses incurred by it in providing foreign and domestic workers under this section, especially in those cases where such employers have customarily recruited and transported foreign workers at their own expense. It is also contemplated that, under his authority to prescribe terms and conditions, the Secretary will make provision for the Government to contract directly with foreign workers for employment by employers of agricultural labor and for the assignment of such workers to employers under arrangements whereby the employer agrees with the Government to assume all the Government's obligations under its contract with the worker. It will be further agreed that in case of default by the employer the Government will pay to the worker the amounts due him and will be reimbursed therefor by the employer. Section 2: This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor, for the purposes of the bill, to enter into agreements with other public agencies and, pursuant to such agreements, to utilize the personnel, facilities, and services of such public agencies, and to reimburse such agencies therefor; to accept and utilize voluntary and uncompensated services; and to cooperate with the Secretary of State in negotiating and carrying out agreements with foreign countries, relating to the employment of foreign agricultural workers in the United States. Section 3: This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor to acquire by purchase, lease or construction, and to maintain and operate "roadside" housing and related facilities for the temporary use of migrant workers en route to and from places of employment. Facilities provided under this section are intended to be utilized, for the most part, for overnight stops. Nominal fees will be charged for the use of them, and any funds derived from such fees will be applied to the cost of their maintenance and operation. The provision of these facilities is intended to correct the conditions now existing under which migrant families find it necessary to camp in roadside ditches, under culverts, or under other conditions which are detrimental to their health. Section 4: This section defines "agricultural labor" as used in the bill to include services and activities included within the provisions of section 3 (f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, or section 1426 (h) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 5: This section permits the use of domestic and foreign workers recruited and transported under section 1 of the bill in the processing of perishable or seasonable agricultural products, where such use is authorized by the Secretary of Labor. Section 6: This section defines the "United States" as used in section 1 (c) of the bill, relating to recruitment and transportation of domestic workers, to include, in addition to the several States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Section 7: This section provides that the authority granted in the bill, except that granted in section 3, relating to the acquisition and operation of "roadside" rest camps for migrant agricultural workers, shall terminate on December 31, 1952. Section 8 is the usual appropriation authorization. Section 9 provides that the short title of the legislation shall be "Emergency Farm Labor Supply Act of 1951." The CHAIRMAN. All of these bills provide for a program of supplying farm labor which is vitally needed in our defense effort. S. 984, which I introduced in the Senate on February 27, authorized the Government to carry out its part of the agreement reached on the importation of farm agricultural workers at Mexico City in February. At this point I wish to file for the record a brochure which I have in my office of all of the proceedings that were had between our Government and the Government of Mexico. (The document referred to will be found in the files of the committee.) The CHAIRMAN. As I have just indicated, S. 984 attempts to carry out the agreements, as I understood them, that were reached between our Government and Mexico at meetings that were held in Mexico City in the latter part of January and early February. S. 1106, which was introduced yesterday by Senator Magnuson, as well as S. 949, introduced by Senator Chavez, of New Mexico, deal with the problem not only of foreign but also domestic labor. Both bills have a different approach than the one I introduced in respect to whom shall bear the expenses of transportation and other expenses that may be incurred for the transportation of laborers while in transit. The Chavez bill deals primarily with cost of transportation, whereas the Magnuson bill, in addition to the cost of transportation, also deals with housing and the cost of feeding and taking care of the laborers while in transit. The bill drafted by the Department of Labor provides for a Federal program of supplying domestic farm labor as well as foreign labor. While these bills are designed to provide a program under which adequate farm labor can be obtained, they differ radically on the methods used and the extent to which the Federal Government would be obligated, as I have just indicated. All of these differences will be explained in detail during the course of hearings as the various witnesses comment on different sections of the bills. I should like to now present for the record a report from Mr. John L. Thurston, Acting Administrator of the Federal Security Agency, on S. 984. Mr. Thurston is opposed to enactment of section 505 of the bill which would exempt imported foreign agricultural workers and their employers from paying social-security taxes. Mr. Thurston also recommends other amendments to the bill, all of which appear in this letter addressed to me and dated March 9. (The document referred to is as follows:) FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY, Hon. ALLEN J. ELLENDER, The purpose of the bill is to provide an adequate supply of agricultural workers in the continental United States by authorizing the Secretary of Labor to recruit workers from foreign countries within the Western Hemisphere or from Hawaii or Puerto Rico and to make them available for agricultural employment in the United States. To carry out this purpose, the Secretary of Labor would be authorized to transport workers to and from the United States, and furnish them with maintenance, and such emergency medical care and burial expenses as may become necessary, while they are being transported by the United States or are at reception centers in the United States. The bill would also authorize the Secretary of Labor to provide assistance at reception_centers to employers and workers in negotiating contracts of employment, and to guarantee performance of such contracts by employers. Employers would be required, as a condition to receiving workers under the bill, to agree to reimburse the United States for any expenses incurred by it under its guaranty, and for expenses-not to exceed $20 per worker-incurred by the United States in recruiting and transporting workers. The employer would also be required, in the case of any worker not returned to the reception center, to pay the cost. of such return. No workers recruited under the bill would be available for employment in any area until certain findings had been made by the director of State employment security for such area with respect to the need for such workers. The bill would exempt workers recruited under its provisions from socialsecurity taxes and benefits, and from the head tax required under the immigration laws. The bill covers workers performing services or activities specified in section 3 (f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or section 1426 (h) of the Internal Revenue Code (social security tax provisions) and expressly includes those engaged in horticultural employment, cotton ginning and compressing, crushing of oilseeds, and packing, canning, freezing, drying, or other processing of perishable or seasonable agricultural products. The bill would be effective only until December 31, 1952. Section 505 of the bill, amending the Social Security Act and Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the Federal old-age and survivors insurance program workers brought in under the bill, discriminates against American labor. By exempting American employers and foreign labor from the payment of the insurance taxes it encourages the employment of foreign labor to the disadvantage of American labor. We strongly urge the elimination of this section from the bill. Since its enactment in 1935, this social insurance program has covered individuals in specific types of jobs in the United States without regard to the nationality of the individual. I believe this is a sound principle which should be retained in the social security system. A change in policy which would establish the principle of exclusion because of nationality may result in criticism of the United States for discrimination in the application of its social security laws. I do not believe this would be in the long-run interest of the United States in world affairs. I should like to point out that if an employer wishes he may pay both his own and the workers' social security contributions, without deduction from the wage. If there are compelling reasons for avoiding the imposition of the employee tax on foreign workers, I believe it would be preferable to give consideration to the employers paying both shares rather than to provide a categorical exclusion. Some employers in nonagricultural pursuits are already doing this. I Should your committee decide nevertheless to exclude these foreign workers from the old-age and survivors insurance program, I believe the proposed amendments to the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code ought to be changed. Section 508 of the bill defines the term "agricultural employment" in broader terms than is now the case with "agricultural labor" as defined in section 210 of the Social Security Act and section 1426 of the Internal Revenue Code. assume, however, that the bill is intended to exclude from coverage under the old-age and survivors insurance program all workers brought into this country under an agreement made under the bill even though they would not be considered to be engaged in agricultural labor as defined for purposes of the old-age and survivors insurance program. To avoid any confusion on this point, the phrase "foreign agricultural workers" in the new subparagraph (C) of section 210 (a) (1) of the Social Security Act and 1426 (b) (1) of the Internal Revenue Code, which would be inserted by section 505 of the bill, should be changed to "foreign workers." Whether or not our above suggestions for amendment of the bill are adopted, there are several other comments which I should like to submit for your consideration. The importation of these workers into the continental United States may well create serious public health and welfare problems. To reduce the frequency and seriousness of such problems, some provision should be made under the bill for screening the workers at the place of origin in order to weed out physically or otherwise unfit individuals. Even so, however, the importation of these workers and their concentration in rural communities will frequently overtax the public health and welfare facilities of the communities. Consequently, there should be some assurance prior to making the workers available in any particular area that the necessary public health and welfare services will be provided there. Section 503 of the bill would prevent any workers recruited under it from being made available in any area unless the director of State employment security for such area found and certified that (1) there were not a sufficient number of able, willing, and qualified domestic workers available, at the time and place needed, to perform the work, and (2) the employment of the foreign workers would not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed domestic agricultural workers. Whether or not there are sufficient domestic agricultural workers readily available to perform the work depends on determinations of fact having more than State-wide implications. In addition, in determining the effect which the employment of the foreign workers might have on the wages and working conditions of domestic agricultural workers, there should be uniform application of the standards and policies developed for carrying out the bill. I believe it essential, therefore, that the findings and certifications with respect to the need for these workers in any particular area, and the effect their employment may have on domestic agricultural workers, be made by an appropriate Federal official, such as the Secretary of Labor, rather than by the director of State employment security who presumedly is a State officer. I also believe that this Federal official should have the benefit of the views of an advisory council or committee to aid him in carrying out his responsibilities under section 503. There are a number of other questions of policy raised by the bill on which other agencies of the Government are more competent to advise than we. One of the most important of these is the question whether it is sound to provide a Federal guaranty of performance by employers of foreign workers' employment contracts, and to provide extensive Federal subsidization of the cost of the foreign workers' transportation and temporary housing, subsistence, emergency medical care, and burial expenses while in transit, while no similar provision is made for American workers. In the program for recruitment of farm labor during World War II no such discrimination against domestic agricultural workers was made. Another important question raised by the bill is whether it is desirable to treat workers from Puerto Rico and Hawaii in the same fashion as foreign workers; with respect to the exclusion of these workers from the old-age and survivors insurance program, such treatment of them is obviously unsound since coverage under that program extends to workers in Puerto Rico and Hawaii to the same extent as to workers in the continental United States. For these reasons I recommend against favorable consideration of the bill in its present form by your committee. Because of a request by a member of your committee's staff that we expedite this report, time has not permitted us to obtain the advice of the Bureau of the Budget as to the relationship of S. 984 or these comments to the program of the President. Sincerely yours, JOHN L. THurston, The CHAIRMAN. I also wish to incorporate in the record at this point, if there is no objection, a report from the Department of Agriculture dated March 12, 1951, on S. 949 and S. 984. The Department recommends the passage of 984 with certain changes with respect particularly to the cost of transportation of these workers while in the United States. (The document referred to is as follows:) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Hon. ALLEN J. ELLENDER, United States Senate DEAR SENATOR ELLENDER: Reference is made to your request of February 26, 1951, requesting a report on S. 949, a bill relating to the stabilization of defense farm labor and to your request of February 28, 1951, requesting a report on S. 984, a bill to amend the Agricultural Act of 1949. The purpose of these two bills, in effect, is to aid in providing an adequate supply of labor to assure supplies of agricultural commodities in such quantities as are determined necessary for the welfare and security of the Nation. The Department of Agriculture is vitally concerned with the problem of seeing that adequate supplies of agricultural commodities are available to meet the needs of the armed services, the requirements of the civilian population, and for export. To meet these requirements, the Department has proposed acreage guides for 1951 which, if met, will result in the greatest agricultural production in history. The production called for will approximate 145 percent of the period immediately preceeding World War II, as compared with 137 percent in 1950 and a previous peak of 140 percent in 1949. The high production during and since World War II has been maintained with a decreasing number of workers, as is indicated in the following table: As illustrated by these figures, agricultural employment is characterized by extreme seasonal variation in numbers. This fact, in addition to the high perishability of many agricultural commodities which require proper and timely handling of products, makes the problem of providing an adequate supply of manpower for agriculture different than for industry. While the decrease in total agricultural employment is due in part to technological advances, some is a direct result of continued high nonfarm employment opportunities. The latter has served to absorb large numbers of workers normally available for seasonal agricultural work. This has decreased the supplies of local workers and the movements of migrant workers. It has necessitated the employment in recent years of out-of-area workers-domestic and foreign-in some areas and crops not normally dependent on such workers. This situation is now being further aggravated by the increased employment in defense activities, coupled with induction of men into the armed services. Therefore, it is anticipated that the supply of workers from normal or usual sources will be inadequate to meet all needs in 1951. It is estimated that the production called for in 1951 will require approximately 1,936,000,000 man-days of labor. This compares with 1,829,000,000 man-days in 1950, and 1,938,000,000 man-days in 1949. In other words, man-day requirements for 1951 are nearly 6 percent above 1950 and approximately the same as for 1949. The exact number of workers needed as compared with previous years will depend upon a number of variables such as weather conditions at the time of harvest, the individual productivity of labor, and the length of time workers will be available. It is, however, anticipated that the trends in nonfarm employment and the need for increases in high labor-requirements crops will result in more areas being faced with critical labor problems. Because of its responsibility in assuring adequate production and the importance of the labor supply to production, this Department is vitally interested in the proposed legislation. To meet agriculture's needs, workers from new and additional sources will have to be obtained. The primary purpose of the pending legislation is to aid in obtaining the needed supply of workers by facilitating the bringing in of workers from outside the United States. This Department concurs that legislation aimed at this objective is necessary. The two bills, S. 949 and S. 984, differ in the means proposed for attaining this objective. A third alternative means has been proposed in draft legislation submitted to the Congress by the Secretary of Labor. In developing means to attain the basic objective of meeting the farm labor supply problem, this Department believes it important that certain basic concepts be reviewed. Most agricultural commodities, particularly at harvest periods, are highly perishable. They demand proper and timely handling. To prevent loss it is imperative that facilities be provided to make workers available when needed. Domestic agricultural workers should be given first opportunity to accept available farm employment. Full and efficient utilization of domestic manpower is in the national interest. The manpower shortage demands that greater efforts be made to obtain fuller use of the underemployed people in certain farm areas. |