Fresno Leader

FRESNO, Calif. – Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21), along with U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), David Valadao (CA-22), Mike Simpson (ID-02), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), John Duarte (CA-13), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) reintroduced the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, groundbreaking legislation that would reform the H-2A program and provide a pathway to legal status for farmworkers. “Providing a path to legal residency for the men and women who work to put food on our dinner tables is long overdue,” said Costa. “California's farming communities have dealt with worker shortages for years, a problem that got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. These workers feed Americans and deserve a path to legal residency.”The Farm Workforce Modernization Act was negotiated over eight months in 2019 with input from farmers, agricultural stakeholders, labor organizations, and farmworker advocates. In December 2019, it became the first agriculture labor reform legislation to pass the House of Representatives since 1986. Since its passage, a bipartisan coalition of Members has continually been working to move the bill through the legislative process. 

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would do the following:  

• Reform the H-2A program to provide more flexibility for employers, while ensuring critical protections for workers.
• Establish a program for agricultural workers in the United States to choose to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment and contribution to the U.S. agricultural economy.
• Focus on modifications to make the program more responsive and user-friendly for employers and provides access to the program for industries with year-round labor needs.

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support in the 116th and 117th Congresses, updates the H-2A agricultural guest worker program and is a compromise solution that provides needed stability for farms and farmworkers. 

As part of his continuing efforts to improve the H-2A program, Costa serves on a bipartisan Ag Labor Working Group formed by the House Agriculture Committee focusing on addressing the workforce issues faced by agricultural producers nationwide.

Original source can be found here.