Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Overhaul Agriculture’s H-2A Program

WASHINGTON, DC – The biggest limiting factor to agriculture is labor. Those are the words of Georgia farmer and President of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Zippy Duval, who testified recently before the House Agriculture Committee. Ironically, a bipartisan group of Representatives not even on the Ag Committee have crafted legislation to reform and overhaul the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act which passed the House overwhelmingly back in 2019, was reintroduced by Zoe Lofgren (CA-D) and Dan Newhouse (WA-R) last week. The bill would modernize and streamline the H-2A process for growers to hire farm workers and create a merit-based visa program for agricultural workers to earn legal status through continued employment. It also would establish a mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural hiring with a structured phase-in and guaranteed due process for authorized workers who are incorrectly rejected by the system.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)