Washington, D.C. - Praising the bipartisan efforts of Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), Bob Graham (D-FL) and Larry Craig (R-ID), the National Council of Agricultural Employers today called the senators' new AgJOBS bill a major step forward for agricultural workers, farmers and the nation.

This legislation solves a critical problem on America's farms. It ensures that farmers have a stable, legal workforce by reforming the current temporary agricultural worker program (H-2A) and by allowing hundreds of thousands of currently undocumented farmworkers the opportunity to adjust their immigrant status and legally work in agriculture.

"For the people who put food on America's tables," said Stuart Longworth, NCAE President, "this bill provides fairness and security. It makes needed reforms to the temporary worker program while guaranteeing good farmworker housing and wages."

"This bill recognizes that over half of America's 1.6 million agricultural workers are undocumented and the current temporary worker system is an administrative nightmare," said Sharon Hughes, Executive Vice President of NCAE. "Furthermore, it also recognizes the growing national consensus for a balanced approach to this often divisive issue."

The need for this legislation is recognized by the vast majority of Latino voters in the California and Texas, two of the nation's largest agricultural states. According to a recent poll published in August by the William C. Velásquez Institute, 76% of registered Latino voters in California and 67% in Texas indicated support for a program where 'illegal immigrant' farmworkers were allowed to become permanent U.S. residents in exchange for several years of agricultural labor.

"Senators Smith, Graham and Craig have developed a reasonable, fair, and balanced approach that serves both farmworkers and farmers," said Hughes. "We are confident that a majority of the Senate and House will join this bipartisan effort to fix a program that currently is not working for either group."

Formed as a non-profit organization in 1964, the National Council of Agricultural Employers is the only national association focusing solely on agricultural employment interests and issues.