What They Are Saying: Farm Workforce Modernization Act a Step Forward for Agricultural Industry
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, March 18, H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed in the House. Rep. Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the legislation alongside Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) to ensure a legal and reliable workforce for American agriculture.
Upon its passage in the House, Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) released a statement indicating strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate, the necessary next step to ensure the legislation is signed into law.
"We applaud our colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives – on both sides of the aisle – for their work on this crucial legislation to make much-needed reforms to our immigration system for our producers and farmworkers. House passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is an important step toward bringing certainty to our country's agriculture industry and the hard-working producers and farmworkers who have sustained the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will work together to introduce companion legislation in the U.S. Senate that appropriately addresses the needs of both the industry and the farmworkers that uphold it." – Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Agriculture and labor leaders also applauded the bill's passage, praising Rep. Newhouse for listening to the voices of America's producers:
"The Farm Workforce Modernization Act addresses the nation's future labor needs by modernizing an outdated system for temporary workers, while ensuring fair wages and safer workplace conditions. I strongly support the passage of this bill." – U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
"The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the critical role filled by our agriculture workforce. This workforce has long depended on immigrants and I am pleased to see widespread discussion on ways to legalize eligible essential workers, as well as modernizing the H2A visa program. Though the proposed bipartisan legislation must still work its way through the process, we appreciate any effort that seeks solutions to help farm workers and the agriculture industry." – Derek Sandison, Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture
"A stable supply of labor is essential to our U.S. agriculture industry thriving in the face of ongoing competition. I will be a passionate voice for a workable resolution to a problem that for too long has been ignored. I want to thank Chair Lofgren and Rep. Newhouse for their leadership on this bipartisan compromise bill, and I will continue to work with them and our stakeholders as we engage our Senate colleagues to make improvements to this needed legislation." – Representative David Scott (D-GA), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
"As Republican Leader of the House Agriculture Committee, I have the incredible honor of hearing directly from the folks who are the backbone of this nation—our farmers. Overwhelmingly, they express that the number one issue they face as an industry is the lack of a reliable workforce. Commonsense immigration reform for agriculture is long overdue and I will continue to be a fierce advocate for the needs of the industry as this process moves forward." – Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), Republican Leader of the House Agriculture Committee
"There has been a labor crisis in American agriculture for a long time. With fewer and fewer Americans choosing to work in agriculture, farmers became dependent on foreign workers to keep their farms running. Without these foreign workers, who are often undocumented, many U.S. farms would be unable to effectively maintain production. This would be severely damaging to American agriculture and our food supply.
To assure continuity in our farm workforce, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act provides a pathway to legal status through continued agricultural employment which will help our farmers meet their labor needs into the future. Applicants are required to undergo background checks and pass strict criminal and national security bars. It also reforms the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to provide more flexibility for employers and vital protections for workers.
U.S. agriculture is the best in the world, but without a stable workforce, it cannot stay that way. Updating our laws will ensure we never become dependent on foreign countries for our food supply and can continue working towards eliminating food insecurity." – Representative Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Chairman of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee
"Bipartisan passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act sends a strong message that the time to address agricultural labor reform is now. Last Congress, NPC and our partners throughout the agricultural industry were disheartened when the Senate was unable to move forward on ag labor reform. We are now focused on keeping up the momentum and are grateful that Senators Crapo and Bennet have committed to working together to introduce a bill in the Senate to ensure growers and workers are provided long-term certainty, security, and competitiveness." – National Potato Council
"Inclusivity helped the FWMA become the first agriculture immigration bill to pass the House in over 30 years, doing so with significant bipartisan support. Once the bill is, hopefully, approved by the House, we look forward to working with the Senate to ensure that any final legislation addresses concerns with the FWMA and ensures the future competitiveness of farmers and ranchers." – National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
"All of American agriculture is facing a labor crisis, which COVID has intensified. Dairy's workforce needs are especially acute because the year-round industry cannot access the H-2A temporary seasonal agricultural visa program. NMPF supports this legislation." – National Milk Producers Federation
"We commend Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Dan Newhouse for their commitment to this meaningful ag labor reform. The legislation will stabilize the current agricultural workforce by creating a process for them to gain work authorization to continue working in agriculture. It also brings needed modernization and cost containment to the H-2A agricultural guestworker program." – U.S. Apple Association
"The House of Representatives took an important step towards reforming our agricultural labor system by passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H. R. 1603) by a vote of 247 to 174. The legislation will stabilize our current workforce and make improvements to ensure that a future workforce is available to meet the growing needs of the fresh produce industry.
The strong support for this measure would not have been possible without the leadership of Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA). Their efforts, aided by colleagues on both sides of the aisle, made today's passage of the bill possible. Now our efforts turn to the Senate where we will work to further improve the bill and garner similar bipartisan support for this legislation." – United Fresh Produce Association
"The advancement of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is the necessary first step in addressing the horticulture industry's ongoing workforce challenges. Our growers have dealt with a broken immigration and agricultural visa system for far too long. We extend our sincere appreciation to the bill negotiators and all those Representatives who voted in favor. We now look to Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to take up the issue and consider legislation addressing the three pillars of reform for the essential farm workforce." – AmericanHort
"Systems that establish a secure, reliable workforce for the agriculture, food and natural resource industries are necessary to our food supply. An estimated half of the U.S. agricultural workforce is foreign-born, and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act will provide opportunities for these individuals to contribute to the U.S. agricultural economy and earn legal status through continued agricultural employment. Understanding the demand for labor across the U.S. food system, NASDA will continue to advocate for support of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the H-2A program and renewable visas for agricultural workers, along with other programs that address workforce challenges. NASDA thanks Chairwoman Lofgren and Congressman Newhouse for reintroducing this legislation. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act provides a crucial step towards solving agriculture's labor needs." – National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
"IDFA is pleased to see the U.S. House of Representatives pass the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and we're thankful to U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) for introducing the bill, along with their colleagues Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Mike Simpson (R-ID), and the 18 other bill co-sponsors for their leadership on this important issue.
Among its many important provisions, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act would create a new year-round visa program and appropriately addresses dairy's labor needs. America's dairy industry produces the safest, most nutritious, and most affordable variety of dairy products to consumers around the world, but without a reliable, predictable guestworker program to ensure legal labor remains available, our industry cannot obtain and process enough milk to meet global demand.
On behalf of America's dairy industry, IDFA urges the Senate to take up this bill as a much-needed positive step forward to address the workforce needs of dairy farmers and our industry." – International Dairy Foods Association
"[This] vote reconfirms the reality that well-crafted and durable legislation requires the input of thoughtful and pragmatic lawmakers from both parties. We thank the House members who led this effort and all who voted in favor of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Next, we urge Senators of both parties to begin their consideration of this legislation in a similar construct, guided by a desire to produce legislation negotiated with both agriculture and labor advocates and supported by Senators of both parties.
The need for a solution to agriculture's labor crisis has been widely accepted across party lines. Furthermore, the remedy, which addresses both the existing workforce and the future flow of workers, has been negotiated in painstaking detail and agreed to by advocates representing farmers and farmworkers alike. The Senate never took up this legislation after it passed the House in 2019 and the problem has predictably worsened. Americans want to see Congress work on real problems and real solutions and spend less time in ideological conflict. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act affords the Senate a powerful opportunity to meet that expectation." – Western Growers
"Today's votes are the direct result of decades of determination by farmworkers and undocumented youth fighting for their right to keep their homes in the United States. This is an opportunity for the nation to acknowledge that farmworkers have always been essential, putting food on the tables of Americans even during a pandemic. This is the year to get it done." – United Farm Workers