Equitable Benefits Amendments to the Sugar Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Equitable Benefits Amendments to the Sugar Act of 1948 - Requires the minimum wage of sugarworkers to be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture after an investigation and apportunity for public hearings. Specifies that a tripartite panel composed of equal representation from: (1) producers of sugar beets and sugar cane; (2) persons employed on the farm as sugarworkers; and (3) the general public shall conduct such hearings and make specified findings required to be used by the Secretary, along with a required annual audit of each producing area, in his determination of a minimum fair and reasonable annual wage. Requires the minimum wage to be above both the poverty level and a cost of living productivity factor to be calculated by specified procedures. Requires that hourly wage and price rate increases be comparable to the annual wage increase. Provides for triple pay of accrued wages that would have been payable by a producer to a sugarworker except for a violation of this Act. Requires producers to comply with Federal regulations pertaining to adequate housing facilities and adequate water and sanitary facilities in the fields which he provides or causes to be provided. Requires the producer to determine that sugarworkers in his employ are United States citizens or aliens authorized by the Immigration Service to engage in employment on a temporary basis. States that the producer shall not have charged, or permitted to be charged, directly or indirectly, any amount in excess of the reasonable cost for the furnishing to any employee, board, lodging, or other facilities or services customarily furnished by such producer or producers in the area or by a crew leader or labor contractor under the producer's control. Provides that the producer shall not have discharged or in any other manner discriminate any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or has served or is about to serve on a committee or panel under this Act. Requires the producer to provide health and accident insurance adequate to cover all medical expenses incurred by the worker or members of his family while in transit to, at, or in transit from the job site.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 22, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 22, 1974: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MARVIN ESCH (R-MI) introduced it on May 22, 1974. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 22, 1974, 19104 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19104 days ago, on May 22, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers