U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson from Pennsylvania introduced bipartisan agricultural labor reform legislation this week. The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 would make key improvements to the accessibility and cost of agricultural labor through the H-2A visa program.
“It’s time to bring the H-2A program into the 21st century,” Thompson said. “Producers have been sounding the alarm for years that Congress needs to address the workforce crisis we have on our hands in farm country. The H-2A visa program is woefully outdated and it no longer meets the needs of American agricultural production.”
If signed into law, this legislation would be the first statutory reform in 40 years to the H-2A program, which allows non-immigrant foreign workers to perform temporary agricultural jobs in the U.S. when domestic workers are unavailable. According to Thompson, the new legislation would expand access to the program for year-round operations, control costs to restore certainty to balance sheets and streamline interactions between the government agencies administering the program.
“There is no greater national security threat than disruptions to our food supply,” he said. “The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 makes the practical, commonsense reforms required to prevent these disruptions by providing a workforce that meets agriculture’s needs—now and in the future.”
This bipartisan legislation is supported by KLA, NCBA, the National Milk Producers Federation, the American Business Immigration Council and more than 400 other agricultural groups across the entire industry.