Temporary Agricultural Labor Reform Act of 2007
Latest action · May 4, 2007 Executive Comment Requested from Dept of Homeland Security.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 29, 2007
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Temporary Agricultural Labor Reform Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise employer and employee association application requirements for admission of H-2A temporary agricultural workers, including assurances: (1) that the job opportunity is temporary, and is not the result of a labor dispute; (2) that attempts have been made to hire U.S. workers; (3) respecting wages and benefits, and labor law compliance; (4) respecting nondisplacement of U.S. workers; and (5) respecting placement with other employers.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a mandatory employment verification program.
Revises related provisions respecting: (1) penalties; and (2) admissions and extensions of stay. Provides special provisions for alien sheepherders, goatherders, and dairy workers.
Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to H-2A employers for the transportation costs of workers whose employment is cut short by natural disaster; and (2) direct the Secretary to establish an H-2A Worker Program Ombudsman within the Office of the Chief Economist of the Department of Agriculture.
Amends the Immigrant Reform and Control Act of 1986 to limit the conditions under which the Legal Services Corporation may: (1) provide legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any alien; (2) bring a civil action for damages on behalf of an H-2A nonimmigrant (requires prior mediation); and (3) enter onto an employer's property.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 29, 2007 to May 15, 2008; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-GA | Jack Kingston | Original | Mar 29, 2007 |
| R-VA | Jo Ann Davis | Original | Mar 29, 2007 |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Original | Mar 29, 2007 |
| R-NC | Virginia Foxx | Original | Mar 29, 2007 |
| R-KY | Ron Lewis | Apr 24, 2007 | |
| R-NE | Adrian Smith | Jun 22, 2007 | |
| R-CO | Marilyn N. Musgrave | Oct 22, 2007 | |
| R-NM | Stevan Pearce | Nov 9, 2007 | |
| R-KY | Ed Whitfield | May 15, 2008 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 29, 2007 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Apr 20, 2007 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Mar 29, 2007 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 4, 2007Executive Comment Requested from Dept of Homeland Security.
- Apr 20, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.
- Mar 29, 2007Introduced in House
- Mar 29, 2007Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 110-30 | HEARING TO REVIEW THE LABOR NEEDS OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE150 pages | Agriculture Committee | Oct 4, 2007 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| RL32044 | Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs Archived | Report | Mar 16, 2010 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To simplify the process for admitting temporary alien agricultural workers under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, to increase access to such workers, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Temporary Agricultural Labor Reform Act of 2007
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Administrative procedure
- Admission of nonimmigrants
- Agricultural labor
- Agriculture and Food
- Alien labor
- Aliens
- Animals
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commerce
- Dairy industry
- Damages
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Homeland Security
- Disaster relief
- Electronic data interchange
- Electronic government information
- Emergency Management
- Employee benefit plans
- Employee rights
- Employers' liability
- Executive reorganization
- Fines (Penalties)
- Goats
- Government Operations and Politics
- Illegal aliens
- Immigration
- Labor and Employment
- Labor disputes
- Law
- Legal aid
- Livestock
- Mediation
- Ombudsman
- Recruiting of employees
- Right of property
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Sheep
- Temporary employment
- Transfer of employees
- Transportation and Public Works
- Travel costs
- Visas
- Wages
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 29, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
