Speech #910074002

Mr. President. since my boyhood days I have been particularly aware of the large numbers of migrant farmworkers that each year come to my home State of Minnesota. It is estimated that this year more than 18.000 migrants are in Minnesota. predominantly MexicanAmericans from Texas. working mostly in the sugar beet fields in the Red River Valley and southern Minnesota. Two St. Paul Pioneer Press reporters. Bob Goligoski and Ann Baker. recently completed a fivepart series discussing the living and working conditions of these migrant farmworkers. Their report is based on visits to migrant camps. and talks with dozens of migrants and farmers. The series of articles on the Minnesota migrants describes many of the same kinds of problems that I. as chairman of the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor. have found to exist around the country. Inadequate pay. irregularity of employment. poor housing. racial discrimination. are too often the rule. not the exception. State facilities for the education or health care of migrants are understaffed and underfunded. Regulations and laws affecting migrants are often not enforced. Predictions that mechanization will eliminate the need for migrants are heardyet more migrants are in Minnesota this year than ever before. The list of grievances. unfortunately. seems endless. The various problems existing in Minnesota associated with the recruitment and presence of migrants are not too dissimilar from the problems present in most socalled user States. where migrant farmworkers meet peak season harvesting demands. These problems stand as a constant reminder that efforts in finding long term. comprehensive solutions to the problems of migrant and seasonal farmworkers must extend not only to the home base States of Florida. Texas. Arizona. and California where there is a concentration of migrants during the off season. but also to the northern user States such as Minnesota. The Migratory Labor Subcommittee is concerned with all aspects of these problems. in all States. Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the St. Paul Pioneer Press series of articles on "Migrants in Minnesota" be printed in the RECORD.