,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cgdj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ab1 #bjai,mr4 
,crawford introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 the ,judiciary1 and in addition to the 
,committees on ,energy and ,commerce1   
and ,education and ,labor1 for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the    
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,immigration   
and ,nationality ,act to simplify and   
rename the ,h-#b;,c worker program1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,agricultural ,guest ,worker ,reform    
,initiative ,act of #bjai or as the     
,,agri ,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,in general  
7a7 ,inclusion of dairy or ranch workers
 ,section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h7 of the     
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,h77 is       
amended by inserting labor on a dairy or

 ranch and before agricultural labor    
defined in4  7b7 ,elimination of #ej    
percent rule ,section #bah7;c77#c7 of   
such ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7;c77#c77  
is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 
by striking 7,a72 and  7#b7 by striking 
subparagraph 7,b74  7c7 ,wage rate      
,section #bah7;a77#a77;,b7 of such ,act 
7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7;a77#a77;,b77 is    
amended by striking the period at the   
end and inserting 1 except that no      
employer shall be required to pay a wage
 rate greater than the greatest of the  
,federal1 ,state1 and local minimum wage
 rates44  7d7 ,legal assistance from the
 ,legal ,services ,corporation2         
,expedited procedures for replacement of
 an absconded worker ,section #bah7;h7  
of such ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7;h77 is
 amended by adding at the end the       
following3  7#c7 7,a7 ,the ,legal       
,services ,corporation may not provide  
legal assistance for1 or on behalf of1  
any alien1 and may not provide financial
 assistance to any person or entity that

 provides legal assistance for1 or on   
behalf of1 any alien1 unless--  7i7 the 
alien is present in the ,united ,states 
at the time the legal assistance is     
provided2 and  7ii7 the parties to the  
dispute have attempted1 in good faith1  
mediation or other non-binding dispute  
resolution of all issues involving all  
such parties4  7,b7 ,if an employer and 
a nonimmigrant having status under      
section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a7 have  
an arbitration arrangement1 the ,legal  
,services ,corporation shall respect the
 arbitration process and outcome4  7,c7 
,no employer of a nonimmigrant having   
status under section                    
#aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a7 shall be      
required to permit any recipient of a   
grant or contract under section #ajjg of
 the ,legal ,services ,corporation ,act 
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #biif;f71 or any employee
 of such a recipient1 to enter upon the 
employer's property1 unless such        
recipient or employee has a pre-arranged
 appointment with a specific            

nonimmigrant having such status4  7#d7  
,if any agricultural guest worker       
absconds from his or her place of       
employment1 the ,secretary of ,homeland 
,security1 in coordination with the     
,secretary of ,state1 the ,secretary of 
,agriculture1 and the ,secretary of     
,labor1 shall establish expedited       
procedures for permitting the employer  
to import a agricultural guest worker to
 replace the absconded worker4  4  7e7  
,length of stay ,section #bah of such   
,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7 is amended by 
adding at the end the following3  7j7   
,length of stay ,an agricultural guest  
worker who enters the ,united ,states   
may remain in the ,united ,states for a 
period of not more than #aa months4 ,the
 agricultural guest worker may not enter
 the ,united ,states on an additional   
visa under section                      
#aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77c7 unless the    
agricultural guest worker first returns 
to that worker's country of origin for a
 period of not less than #a month4 ,an  

agricultural guest worker may enter and 
remain in the ,united ,states for a     
total of not more than #c years4  4  7f7
 ,housing ,section #bah7;c77#d7 of such 
,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7;c77#d77 is    
amended to read as follows3  7#d7       
,housing ,except for agricultural guest 
workers who are reasonably able to      
return to their permanent residence     
7either within or outside the ,united   
,states7 within the same day1 the       
employer will provide housing to        
agricultural guest workers through one  
of the following means3  7,a7           
,employer-owned housing in accordance   
with regulations promulgated by the     
,secretary of ,agriculture4  7,b7       
,rental or public accommodations or     
other substantially similar class of    
habitation in accordance with           
regulations promulgated by the          
,secretary of ,agriculture4  7,c7       
,except where the ,governor of the      
,state has certified that there is      
inadequate housing available in the area

 of intended employment for migrant farm
 workers and agricultural guest workers 
seeking temporary housing while employed
 in agricultural work1 the employer may 
furnish the worker with a housing       
voucher in accordance with regulations1 
if--  7i7 the employer has verified that
 housing is available for the period    
during which the work is to be          
performed1 within a reasonable commuting
 distance of the place of employment1   
for the amount of the voucher provided1 
and that the voucher is useable for that
 housing2  7ii7 upon the request of a   
worker seeking assistance in locating   
housing for which the voucher will be   
accepted1 the employer makes a good     
faith effort to assist the worker in    
identifying1 locating1 and securing     
housing in the area of intended         
employment2 and  7iii7 payment for the  
housing is made with a housing voucher  
that is only redeemable by the housing  
owner or their agent4  ,an employer who 
provides housing through one of the     

foregoing means shall not be deemed a   
housing provider under section #bjc of  
the ,migrant and ,seasonal ,agricultural
 ,worker ,protection ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4
 #ahbc7 by virtue of providing such     
housing4  4  7g7 ,absconding aliens     
,section #bah7;f7 of such ,act 7#h      
,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7;f77 is amended by      
adding at the end the following3 ,if the
 alien absconds1 the employer shall not 
be liable for any violation of this     
section4 ,the employer may1 in a civil  
action1 recover any costs of            
transportation paid to the alien and any
 fees paid pertaining to the importing  
of the alien44  7h7 ,biometric          
identification card ,the ,secretary of  
,homeland ,security shall provide each  
nonimmigrant agricultural worker with an
 identification card that contains--    
7#a7 an encrypted1 machine-readable1    
electronic identification strip that is 
unique to the alien to whom the card is 
issued2  7#b7 biometric identifiers1    
including fingerprints and a digital    

photograph2 and  7#c7 physical security 
features designed to prevent tampering1 
counterfeiting1 or duplication of the   
card for fraudulent purposes4  7i7      
,trust fund  7#a7 ,establishment ,the   
,secretary of ,agriculture shall        
establish by regulation a trust fund the
 purpose of which is to provide1 without
 further appropriation1 funds for the   
administration and the enforcement of   
the program under this section1 for the 
cost of the cards issued under          
subsection 7k71 for a monetary incentive
 for nonimmigrant agricultural workers  
to return to their country of origin    
upon expiration of their visas under the
 program1 and for payment with respect  
to emergency medical services furnished 
to nonimmigrant agricultural workers4   
,the ,secretary of ,agriculture in      
consultation with the ,secretary of the 
,treasury shall promulgate such other   
regulations as may be necessary to carry
 out this subsection4  7#b7 ,payment of 
,,fica and ,,futa amounts into trust    

fund ,in the case of employment of a    
nonimmigrant agricultural worker-- 7,a7 
the employer shall provide for payment  
into the trust fund established under   
paragraph 7#a7 of the sum of--  7i7 an  
amount equivalent to the amount of      
excise taxes which the employer would   
pay under chapter #ba of the ,internal  
,revenue ,code of #aihf with respect to 
such employment if it were considered   
employment for the purpose of such ,act2
 and  7ii7 an amount equivalent to 7and 
in lieu of7 the amount of excise taxes  
which the employer would otherwise pay  
under chapter #bc of such ,code with    
respect to such employment2 and  7,b7   
there shall be deducted from the wages  
of the worker and paid into such trust  
fund an amount equivalent to the amount 
of excise taxes that the employee would 
pay under such chapter #ba with respect 
to such employment if it were considered
 employment for the purposes of such    
,act4  7#c7 ,expenditures from trust    
fund  7,a7 ,use of employer             

contributions for administration        
,amounts described in paragraph         
7#b77;,a7 paid into the trust fund shall
 be used for the purpose of             
administering and enforcing the program 
under this section and for the cost of  
the cards issued under subsection 7k74  
7,b7 ,use of employee contributions for 
repayment of employee contributions upon
 return to country of origin ,except as 
provided in subparagraph 7,c71 amounts  
described in paragraph 7#b77;,b7 paid   
into the trust fund with respect to a   
nonimmigrant agricultural worker shall1 
upon application by the worker at the   
,united ,states consulate nearest the   
worker's residence in the country of    
origin1 be paid to the worker if the    
worker demonstrates the compliance of   
the worker with the terms and conditions
 of the program4  7,c7 ,use of employee 
contributions attributable to ,,hi taxes
 for emergency medical services for     
nonimmigrant agricultural workers  7i7  
,in general ,amounts described in       

paragraph 7#b77;,b7 paid into the trust 
fund which relate to excise tax in      
section #caja7;b7 of the ,internal      
,revenue ,code of #aihf shall be used to
 provide payment with respect to        
emergency medical services 7as defined  
in clause 7iii77 for nonimmigrant       
agricultural workers4  7ii7             
,administration ,the ,secretary of      
,agriculture shall establish rules1 in  
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,health and ,human ,services1 with      
respect to the payments under this      
subparagraph1 including methods for     
determining qualifications for payment  
and the amount of payment to be made    
with respect to emergency medical       
services4  7iii7 ,emergency medical     
services defined ,in this subparagraph1 
the term emergency medical services     
means those items and services required 
to be provided under section #ahfg of   
the ,social ,security ,act 7#db         
,u4,s4,c4 #acie;dd7 with respect to an  
individual who is a nonimmigrant        

agricultural worker and does not include
 items and services for which coverage  
under workers' compensation is required 
under subsection 7f77#c7 with respect to
 the worker4  7j7 ,semiannual reports to
 ,congress ,the ,secretary of           
,agriculture shall report to ,congress  
semiannually regarding the program under
 this section4 ,each such report shall  
include a statement of the number of    
nonimmigrant visas issued under the     
program1 an evaluation of the           
effectiveness of the program1 a         
description of any problems related to  
the enforcement of the program1 and any 
recommendations for legislation relating
 to the program4  7k7 ,program name and 
,administrator changed ,section #bah of 
the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act  
7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh71 as amended by this
 ,act1 is further amended--  7#a7 by    
striking ,h-#b;,a worker each place it  
appears and inserting agricultural guest
 worker2 and  7#b7 by striking          
,secretary of ,labor each place it      

appears and inserting ,secretary of     
,agriculture4