A committee vote is planned Wednesday (Oct. 4) for the agriculture guest worker revamp bill in the House of Representatives. Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte introduced the bill Monday, and vowed to push for a “tight timetable.”
The bill, according to Politico, would essentially scrap H-2A in its current form, rename the visa program H-2C and house it within the Department of Agriculture.
Many farm groups applauded the introduction of the bill. More than 60 dairy groups penned a joint letter calling the bill a “significant, positive step forward.” However, United Farm Workers and the AFL-CIO told Congress the bill would “create even more unfairness and dysfunction” in the immigration system.
Goodlatte’s 2013 version of the bill passed out of committee in a 20-16 vote but was never taken up on the House floor.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.