U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, announced last week that the bipartisan congressional group endorses comprehensive legislation aimed at building a legal and reliable pool of agricultural workers in the United States.
“I am proud the Problem Solvers Caucus could get behind this bill as we fight to push it over the finish line and onto the president’s desk,” Rep. Reed said.
Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus support the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, H.R. 4916, introduced on Oct. 30 by U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) to help agricultural workers earn legal status through continued employment, improve the federal H-2A visa program, and establish a mandatory E-Verify process.
The bill so far has garnered support from 24 Democratic and 20 Republican cosponsors, as well as more than 250 agriculture groups and labor organizations.
If enacted, H.R. 4916 would create year-round access to the H-2A program for dairy and other agricultural sectors that face labor shortages and have been unable to utilize the program, according to a bill summary, and would establish a mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural employment with a structured phase-in and guaranteed due process, among numerous other provisions.
“I hear it every time I step on family farms in Upstate New York — ‘when is Washington going to do something about access for farm labor?’ This common-sense bipartisan compromise is a no brainer to this decades-old problem, and will deliver relief to the farmers we care about across the nation to give them fair access to workers they need to prosper,” said Rep. Reed.
Problem Solvers Caucus members, including U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), worked closely with Reps. Newhouse and Lofgren (D-CA), and stakeholders from the agricultural and labor sectors, to drum up caucus support for the legislation, according to Rep. Reed’s office.
“This is a big win for bipartisan problem solving and a big win for America’s farmers,” said U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who also serves as co-chair of the caucus. “Even in these tumultuous times, the Problem Solvers Caucus continues to put America before party, and governing ahead of partisanship.”