Mr. President. I am pleased to cosponsor the Migrant Farmers Housing Amendments submitted by my distinguished colleague from Minnesota. Senator MONDALE. chairman of the Migratory Labor Subcommittee. His eloquent statement on the housing needs of migrant and seasonal farm labor testifies to his broad understanding of this problem. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers have performed a vital role in modern agriculture in Michigan. Each year thousands of farmworkers leave the "home base" areas of Florida and Texas to work in "user States" such as Michigan. and more migrants have come to Michigan than to any other State. These workers. while meeting the crucial harvest needs in Michigan cherries and other fruits and vegetables. are too often subjected to seriously depressed living and working conditions. The influx of migrants to supplement the local farm labor force creates severe problems in meeting such basic human needs as health. education. sanitation facilities. and particularly housing. Most local. rural communities are not equipped to meet fully these problems. And regrettably the housing situation apparently is no better in Michigan than it is in Minnesota. or New York. or Delaware. or Ohio. or Oregon. The plain fact is that we do not have adequate numbers of housing units for these seasonal workers who contribute so much to the Nations abundance of agricultural commodities. Also. farmers who employ migrant workers have a unique problem in meeting the housing needs of their employees. Unlike other industries which have not been burdened with the responsibility of providing housing. many parts of the agriculture industry have accepted this responsibility. This has placed a great financial burden on the farmers of Michigan.
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migrant migrants Migrant