ROYBAL-ALLARD JOINS STUDENTS IN SUPPORT OF EDUCATIONAL EQUALITY FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT YOUTH

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard urged Members of Congress to save the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) at a briefing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. She was joined by a family of farmworkers who spoke about their personal experience.

The NFJP offers farm workers the chance at a better life. It provides English classes, job training, and employment services to help farm workers to pursue better jobs. The program is a great success; more than 80% of those who look for a better job find one, usually with a higher salary, more benefits, and greater financial security.

"Given the success and overwhelming need for the Farmworker Jobs Program, it is impossible to understand why the President has eliminated the program's funding in his Fiscal Year 2003 budget," said Roybal-Allard.

Roybal-Allard argued that, without this critical program, farmworkers and their families are left with little hope of breaking the cycle of poverty.

"Farmworkers toil daily in our fields to provide food for our nation's families," said Roybal-Allard. "Yet, they are among the lowest paid members of our nation's workforce - earning, on average, under $10,000 a year with little or no benefits."

Roybal-Allard, together with the farmworker family and officials from the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, used the briefing to educate Members of Congress and their staffs about the urgent need to continue funding for the NFJP.

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Congresswoman Roybal-Allard
Washington, D.C., Office: 2330 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: (202) 225-1766. Fax: (202) 226-0350.
District Office: 255 E. Temple St., Ste. 1860, Los Angeles, CA 90012-3334. Phone: (213) 628-9230. Fax: (213) 628-8578.