<p>An assemblage of organizations representing nearly every major faction of the industry has delivered a letter to Chairman Lamar Smith of the Committee on the Judiciary to express concern about the upcoming H.R. 2164, the Legal Workforce Act. Notably absent from the act is an agricultural workers program, a program that these organizations deem to be essential. If the new E-verify system does not incorporate an agricultural program, the letter argues, the government risks imposing a new mandate on agricultural employers without allowing them access to a legal supply of labor. The financial consequences could be as much as $5 to $9 billion in annual U.S. agricultural production business that would have to be outsourced to other countries.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p> The letter concludes : “This does not have to happen. The undersigned organizations, representing the breadth of U.S. agriculture, stand ready to work with you in crafting a program that will prevent the loss of American jobs and the export of billions of dollars of U.S. economic production to foreign competitors. It is critically important to all of us that H.R. 2164 include an effective agricultural worker program.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
