Mr. Speaker. today I am introducing legislation to assist farmers unable to produce their crops because of the lessthanorderly implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. In my district in Oregon. strawberries lie rotting in the fields for the lack of farmworkers. Within 2 weeks. other crops in the Pacific Northwest will be in jeopardy. If the current trend in labor shortages continues. Oregon farmers will lose $200 million to $300 million. This will have a dramatic impact on the States economy. and on agriculturalrelated industries. While the Pacific Northwest has been hit the hardest so far. several regions may begin to experience severe labor shortages for other laborintensive crops as the summer progresses.
Keywords matched
Immigration