| Sumario: | Legislation pending in the Senate and backed by major growers of agricultural produce seeks to resolve difficulties that have bedeviled American agriculture and policymakers for years. More than half of all farm workers live below the poverty line, and the majority have no health insurance. Most of America's farm workers are immigrants, and the main cause of their bleak economic situation is a dramatic oversupply of labor, fueled by high levels of undocumented foreign workers. The proposed legislation would seek to guarantee growers a stable foreign workforce by easing wage, housing, and recruitment requirements in current law regulating guest-worker programs. In addition, it would offer an “earned amnesty,” whereby green cards would be offered to illegal workers who work in the fields for the next five years. However, the debate over policy on farm labor is highly polarized, with growers and farm workers seeking different things from legislation. Thus, there is little chance that political compromise will be reached prior to the 2000 elections. The need to involve consumers in the debate is discussed.
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