<p>Following Senator Bill Nelson’s efforts to get federal agencies to expedite guest-worker applications for the upcoming winter harvest, top federal officials have assured him that they can fast-track H-2A applications, according to The Ledger.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/h2aboday102413.jpg" alt="images 102313" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> A statement from Nelson’s office said the senator received a positive response.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “The Department of Labor is working with Customs (under the Department of Homeland Security) to expedite the process,” the statement said. “They will have additional staff working on processing these visas for the next 30 days to clear the backlog. They think, with the additional staff, they will be able to clear the backlog in less than 30 days.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The H-2A program allows U.S. agricultural employers with a proven need for foreign workers to bring in those workers under a temporary visa. H-2A applications begin at the Labor Department’s Chicago office, which coordinates with Homeland Security and the embassies in Latin America, where most guest workers live. Applications usually take 60 days to process.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Representatives of Florida’s citrus and strawberry industries said they must have guest workers by early December, when harvesting begins in earnest.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Aside from H-2A applications, Nelson also updated officials on his legislation to establish a Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund that would contribute $123 million over five years on research to battle citrus greening, a bacterial disease that could harm citrus trees in Florida. However, the fate of the fund rests in a conference committee between leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives over a new federal Farm Bill. Nelson reportedly got an amendment establishing the fund into the Senate version of the bill, but it was taken out of the House version.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The previous Farm Bill expired last year, and the Senate passed its version of the new bill, which governs agricultural policies and spending over five years, before the 2011 – 2012 Congress adjourned. But budget hawks in the House failed to pass a new Farm Bill and agreed to a one-year extension, according to The Ledger.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more news on the processing of H-2A applications.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.theledger.com/article/20131023/NEWS/131029716/0/search?tc=ar" target="_new"> The Ledger </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
