House Resurrects Farm Workforce Modernization Act
This week’s reintroduction of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act in the House of Representatives is being praised by several industry organizations, including AmericanHort. The historic legislation, first negotiated in 2019, passed in the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support that year.
Following the news, AmericanHort issued the following statement:
“Workforce challenges are the single-biggest constraint on the stability, success, and growth potential of nursery and greenhouse growers across the U.S. Rural areas across the country benefit from the jobs and economic opportunity that farm workers create, so long as our growers have the workforce needed to sustain production here in America.
“This bill seeks to address the challenge head-on, with solutions that stabilize the current agricultural and horticultural workforce, improve the H-2A visa program and other options for future seasonal, year-round, and permanent agricultural employees, and advance integrity in the hiring process. While not perfect, this bipartisan compromise advances an urgent debate and provides a vehicle for these reforms to take shape.
“AmericanHort congratulates our House champions on today’s bill reintroduction,” says Craig Regelbrugge, Senior Vice President of AmericanHort. “We urge Members of Congress to vote yes on this key piece of legislation and also encourage the Senate to move swiftly to build upon this important legislative foundation.”
AmericanHort also commended House champions and their professional staff, most notably House Judiciary Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, and Representatives Dan Newhouse, Mario Diaz-Balart, Mike Simpson, and Doug LaMalfa, for their unwavering commitment to addressing agriculture’s workforce crisis.
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