Weed out, don't revamp farmworker plan

Here we go again.

The Bush administration is about to revamp the mostly useless federal temporary farmworker program.

The idea is to try to alleviate the critical shortage of agricultural workers created by the lack of immigration reform and the repressive policies against undocumented workers and families.

Both the industry and the workers have received the plan with skepticism.

"Growers and producers appreciate that the Bush administration knows there is a problem," said Craig Regelbrugge, vice president of Government Relations and Research at the American Nursery and Landscape Association.

"Some of the proposals could help some," he said. "But they do not present the broad solution needed to address the labor crisis. We support bipartisan legislation, such as AgJobs, that addresses the whole problem in a way that is fair to workers and good for employers."

The measure that Bush wants to enact is like "painting the house when the roof is on fire," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).


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