House-Passed Ag Worker Reform Bill Faces Senate Uncertainty
June 2, 2021 For the second time in as many sessions of Congress, the U.S. House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, designed to reform the broken foreign agriculture labor program and allow agricultural workers to earn legal status.
The bill, once again supported by the National Potato Council (NPC) and sponsored by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA), was approved on March 18 with 30 Republicans — many of whom represent farm communities — voting “yea.”
Upon passage, Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) said they plan to introduce the bill’s companion in the upper chamber, which would be a significant step forward. After the identical bill was passed in 2019, and despite the best efforts to NPC and our state partners, the bill saw no movement last session of Congress and died upon adjournment.
Although the bill this time around has the significant backing of many farm and food trade groups, some Senate Republican leaders remain pessimistic on the bill’s outlook.
Most notably, Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) said, “Now is not the time to take up this bill given the ongoing crisis at our Southern border.” Instead, Senator Boozman said that discussions on immigration must focus on border security before the Senate advances any other legislation — including ag worker reform — that pertains to the issue.
As of the writing of this column, the bill has not been introduced, yet the agriculture community remains committed to developing and passing comprehensive legislation to address the labor crisis faced by food producers.
While the House bill is not perfect, NPC and organizations representing growers and ranchers are working to improve the measure in the Senate in the hopes of retaining those changes if, and when, a Senate-passed bill goes to a conference committee.
H-2A Wages Need Reform
One good example of needed wage reform is the H-2A program. NPC and our partners are advocating for improvements to address the unpredictable wage rate for employers taking part in H-2A — the sole agricultural guestworker program.
The H-2A program currently supplies only 10% of the necessary agricultural workforce, in part because it operates in a cumbersome and unresponsive manner. In particular, the H-2A program’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) skyrocketed recently by more than 20% in certain states.
This unworkable structure drives employers away from the program and harms investment in rural America that would otherwise occur.
To allow the labor force to expand and contract based upon agriculture’s production needs, we are advocating for the creation of a new guestworker program that includes a predictable market-based wage rate, responsive visa terms, and no “hard caps” on participation.
Additionally, we are working to stabilize the current improperly documented workforce through a program to incentivize workers to remain in American agriculture.
One of the greatest challenges facing U.S. agriculture is the labor shortage that impacts growers and jeopardizes their future. The House’s bipartisan passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act sends a strong message that the time to address agricultural labor reform is now, and we will continue to urge the Senate to do what’s right for food producers and the workers upon which many rely.
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