Mr. Speaker. today I have introduced two bills which I hope will become two more girders In the structure Congress has been building to raise the quality of life for Americas migrant agricultural laborers. I have been concerned about the abominable condition of migrant laborers. whether in my own State of New York or 3.000 miles across this continent. in the 88th Congress I introduced six bills to create better working and living conditions for migrant workers. I am pleased to say that three of those bills were Incorporated into the antipoverty law enacted in August of last year. And a fourth bill was enacted as the Farm Labor Contractor Registration ActPublic Law 88582. The three bills provided the States with financial assistance to improve the educational opportunities of migrant workers and their children. established daycare services for children of migrant workers. and provided funds to appropriate authorities to assist in the construction and renovation of sanitation facilities used by migrant farm families. The Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act established a registration system for those who recruit migrant workers. The legislation that has passed will. no doubt. ameliorate the conditions of migrant laborers. However. anyone who has examined their plight realizes that a great deal more remains to be done if migrant farm laborers are to enjoy even a part of the opportunities available to most Americans. The two bills I have reintroduced today will increase our knowledge of the problem and reduce the hazards of migrant farm life. One bill would create a National Adv isory Council on Migratory Labor consisting of 15 members appointed by the President from among State officials. private citizens. farmers andmost importantlyfrom the migrant laborers. The Council would be responsible for investigating in an organized and thorough manner the problems of migrant farm labor and for proposing creative solutions to those problems. The need for a complete study is obvious. if we intend to come up with solutions that will not merely be stopgap measures. An educated concern about the conditions of migrant farm life will lead to comprehensive measures designed to bring migrant laborers into the mainstream of American life. The second bill regulates the employment of children in agriculture. It extends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to Include the children of migrant laborers. The Secretary of Labor is given the power to issue regulations barring children below the age of 18 from working on particularly hazardous farm operations. It should be apparent that any longrange solution to the ills of migrant farm life must include provisions for the protection of children of migrant laborers. The antipoverty act will improve living conditions for these children by improving their educational opportunities and creating daycare services for them. We should complement those provisions with legislation to prevent the exploitation of migrant farm children. Mr. Speaker. the continuous. intense. and impassioned affirmation on the part of Congress and the President of the goal of eliminating the evils of poverty has been evidenced in almost every part of America. Education. job opportunities. health carethe House has already passed legislation to extend programs in these areas. From the time that John Steinbeck wrote his classic. "The Grapes of Wrath." until today. migrant laborers have suffocated from all the evils which choke the poor. We must make a continuous commitment to improve the standard of living for Americas migrant farm laborers. They must not remain Americas forgotten people.