June 30 ,2026
FROM REP. CLAUDIA TENNEY: Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today joined House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, legislation to modernize the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, provide greater certainty for farmers, and help ensure America’s producers have access to the workforce they need to keep the nation’s food supply strong.
For nearly 40 years, the H-2A program has remained largely unchanged despite the evolving needs of American agriculture. As labor shortages continue to challenge farms across the country, producers face increasing difficulty finding enough workers to plant and harvest crops, care for livestock, and maintain safe, reliable food production. The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act would modernize the program by expanding eligibility for temporary agricultural work, including making dairy farms eligible for H-2A, creating a streamlined online application system, simplifying program requirements, and codifying recent reforms to provide greater wage stability and certainty for farmers.
“Farmers across New York and our nation work tirelessly to feed America, but too many are struggling to find the workforce they need to keep their operations running,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Our outdated H-2A program has created unnecessary costs, delays, and uncertainty that hurt family farms and drive up food prices. For too long, critical industries like dairy have been locked out of the H-2A program. The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act delivers commonsense reforms that modernize the program, cut red tape, provide greater certainty for producers, and help strengthen our food supply. Importantly, this bill does not open the door for amnesty and preserves H-2A as a temporary labor program for our nation’s agricultural producers who cannot find American workers. Supporting American agriculture means ensuring our farmers have the tools they need to succeed. This legislation is an important step toward protecting our farms, our economy, and our nation’s food security.”
