A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 (SAWA), designed to modernize the H-2A agricultural guest worker program for the first time since its creation in 1986.
Led by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA-15), the bill would expand the program beyond seasonal agriculture, overhaul wage calculations, streamline the application process and allow year-round industries such as dairy, livestock, forestry and portions of meat processing to access H-2A workers for the first time.
Speaking at a Capitol Hill news conference announcing the legislation, Thompson said the proposal was the result of years of work and extensive input from agricultural organizations nationwide.
“This bill is years in the making, and its reforms are long overdue,” Thompson said. “Congress has not updated the H-2A visa program since Ronald Reagan was president.”
Although agricultural labor falls outside the House Agriculture Committee’s formal jurisdiction, Thompson said producers repeatedly identified workforce shortages as one of their greatest concerns during farm bill listening sessions.
“The issue of agricultural labor kept being brought up,” he said. “The lack of domestic workforce for these jobs, how cumbersome the H-2A visa program was, and the fact that the cost of ag labor was pushing some farmers to the brink of bankruptcy.”
The legislation reflects recommendations developed by the committee’s bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group, which spent the previous Congress gathering input from producers and industry organizations.
Changes to the program
Current law limits H-2A visas to temporary, seasonal agricultural work. SAWA would remove the seasonal requirement and instead define eligibility based on temporary job contracts lasting up to 350 days, regardless of whether the underlying work itself is seasonal.
That change would allow industries such as dairy, forestry, controlled-environment agriculture, aquaculture, livestock markets and livestock harvest activities to participate in the program. A pathway to citizenship is not included.
The legislation would also transfer authority to define “agricultural labor or services” from the Department of Labor to the secretary of Agriculture.
Other reforms include:
• Creation of a single online portal for H-2A applications involving multiple federal agencies.
• Staggered worker entry dates.
• Faster processing deadlines for labor certifications and visa petitions.
• Authority to waive certain visa interview requirements.
• Limits on annual adverse effect wage rate changes.
• Elimination of mid-contract wage increases.
• Updated wage calculations using Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The bill also includes a limited waiver allowing certain existing unauthorized agricultural workers to apply for H-2A visas if they voluntarily leave the country, satisfy background checks and meet all program requirements.
Lawmakers chime in
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04) said labor shortages continue to threaten the viability of farms across the country.
Representing Washington’s labor-intensive fruit, hop and wine grape industries, Newhouse said growers continue relying on H-2A because they cannot find enough domestic workers, but rapidly increasing labor costs have become unsustainable.
“When you couple that with inflation and the high costs of inputs that people are facing, very few producers are actually making money,” he said. “There’s not a single grower of Washington apples that has made a profit.”
Rep. Josh Riley (D-NY-19) said dairy producers throughout upstate New York consistently identify labor as their biggest concern.
“The immigrants who work our dairy farms are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet,” Riley said. “This bill gives them the legal protections they have earned while cutting red tape for farmers who should be focused on feeding our communities, not fighting against bureaucracies.”
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID-02) said labor has remained the top issue he hears from producers.
“Every farmer I talk to, every single one, the number one issue is labor and getting a legal workforce,” Simpson said. “These people produce the food that feeds America and feeds the world.”
Ag groups rally behind bill
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called agricultural labor the industry’s most urgent challenge and described his own decision to leave the dairy business because he could not hire dependable workers.
“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to milk cows anymore,” Duvall said. “I absolutely loved milking my cows.”
Instead, after years of struggling to find reliable labor, he closed the dairy operation his family had built over three generations.
“The H-2A program currently doesn’t allow for dairymen to use it because it doesn’t allow for year-round workers,” he said. “This act will help us be able to provide a way for them to find workers and be able to continue to do what their families have done for many, many generations.”
Dave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers, said many producers now rely on H-2A “not by choice, but of necessity.” He noted that the national average adverse effect wage rate climbed from $12.20 per hour in 2018 to $17.74 in 2025, an increase of about 45%.
Greg Dowd, CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, said the dairy industry has never had access to H-2A despite requiring employees every day of the year.
“On the Fourth of July they’re going to be milking cows. On Christmas Day they’re going to be milking cows,” Dowd said. “Without help, the cows don’t get milked.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
