Press Release
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture commends U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson on introducing the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, which would bolster the agricultural workforce through long-needed reforms to the H-2A guestworker visa program. Chairman Thompson was joined by a bipartisan group of more than 40 co-sponsors, underscoring the importance of this issue across the country.
“For decades, the single most widespread and urgent issue we have heard from each and every state department of agriculture is the need for agricultural labor reform,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said. “The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act provides long-overdue improvements to the H-2A program that will make this vital program more accessible and affordable for farmers and ranchers across the U.S. NASDA appreciates Chairman Thompson’s efforts to build on bipartisan input, and we look forward to working with Congress to get this critical legislation over the finish line.”
This legislation would expand access to the H-2A program by eliminating the requirement for labor to be seasonal and expanding the definition of temporary to include positions lasting fewer than 350 days. These changes would allow industries like dairy, aquaculture processing, controlled environment agriculture and more to access the program. The bill would also codify the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent reforms to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate and improve transparency in the program’s cross-agency administration.
As part of the organization’s policy priorities, NASDA supports a modernized workforce system that provides farmers and ranchers with access to a stable, legal workforce while strengthening food security for families at home and enhancing the competitiveness of American agricultural products abroad. NASDA strongly supports the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act as a meaningful step toward addressing one of the most significant challenges facing U.S. agriculture and providing farmers with a more reliable workforce.
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NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories. NASDA engages state departments of agriculture to strengthen U.S. agriculture and allied industries through policy, partnerships and public outreach. To learn more about NASDA, please visit www.nasda.org.
