Ag Labor Bill Introduced - Bill Would Scrap H-2A, Create a New Ag Guest Worker Program at USDA

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By Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor

https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2017/10/02/bill-scrap-h-2a-create-new-ag-guest

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The Department of Labor shows 160,084 temporary H-2A ag jobs around the country were filled in the first nine months of Fiscal Year 2017, more than double the volume from just a few years ago. Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Washington and California combined for just over 50% of the H-2A requests and positions filled.

Goodlatte's bill would have an initial allocation of as many as 500,000 H-2C visas; some farm groups expressed concern this is too low. The bill would also allow 10,000 permanent green cards each year for agricultural workers.

Agricultural groups largely praised Goodlatte's bill on Monday. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, was among those supporting the bill, stating it would help with agriculture's labor shortage. Duvall said there were concerns, including the cap on visas, but indicated those issues could be worked out.

"The Ag Act's proposed guest worker visa program would bring much needed improvements to the current system while addressing the needs of our current workforce and providing a streamlined visa process for skilled, agricultural workers in the future," Duvall stated in a news release.

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1. Will this replace current American workers or make wages fall -

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2. It's a horrible bill that will wipe out wage/working conditions advancements made by

H-2A workers over the decades.