Legislators are working to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, again. The bill would provide more flexibility for employers and ensure protection for workers.
As the 118th Congress prepares to negotiate the farm bill this year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are reintroducing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act — legislation that seeks to boost foreign worker availability in the U.S., with benefits to both employers and laborers — in hopes the bill may finally have a vehicle to become law.
The bill may get hung up on the E-Verify system, which compares worker information to federal records to ensure that workers are legally eligible to work in the U.S. “In the past few years, we’ve seen labor shortages contribute to high food prices. If it wasn’t obvious before, the pandemic made clear that our country’s agricultural workforce rules are in dire need of reform,” Lofgren said in a statement Friday. “The men and women who work America’s farms feed the nation. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act stabilizes the workforce, which will protect the future of our farms and our food supply.
“The top concern for farmers and ranchers in Central Washington and across the nation is labor, and the problem is only getting worse. As a third-generation farmer, I know first-hand how challenging it is for the agriculture industry to hire and retain labor so we can continue to feed America and the world,” Newhouse said in a press release.
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