United States lawmakers introduce bill to reform agricultural labor system

Following President Trump's successful actions to secure the U.S. border, agriculture champions in the House of Representatives are following through on a long-stated agreement with United States agriculture. Specifically, that deal held that once the security of the southern border was achieved, Republicans in Congress would be able to take on long-needed agriculture labor reforms.

In that pursuit, just before the Fourth of July, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-Pa.) introduced the "Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026", a bipartisan bill that would deliver comprehensive reform to a broken labor system.

For the United States potato industry, this legislation arrives not a moment too soon. The current agricultural guestworker framework dates back to 1986. In the 40 years since its inception, agriculture has transformed, yet federal regulations have remained frozen in time.

This regulatory stagnation has created an unprecedented labor crisis. National H-2A program participation skyrocketed from 100,000 positions in 2013 to 400,000 in 2025. What's telling about the need for outside labor is that, despite mandatory local advertising, fewer than 400 domestic workers applied for those positions nationwide. 
 

Growing pressure on potato producers

Ongoing labor shortages hit close to home for U.S. potato growers. On a recent episode of the "Eye on Potatoes" podcast ("How the Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act Protects the Potato Supply Chain"), Mike Wenkel joined Brett Jensen, a third-generation grower in Idaho Falls and National Potato Council Vice President of Trade Affairs, who has used the H-2A program for nearly 30 years.

Brett Jensen, National Potato Council Vice President of Trade Affairs:

"Guestworkers have provided a stable, reliable labor force that has allowed his operation to grow."

Jensen now employs a second generation of workers, with fathers bringing their sons to work on the farm. Despite living in an area of 100,000 people, domestic applicants simply do not exist.

Brett Jensen:

"In over three decades of posting job notices in local papers, only one domestic applicant ever inquired about a job posting – and then never showed up for the interview."

Even for experienced producers, the current system creates intense friction. Last year, random border checks held up several of Jensen's 25-year veteran employees for 10 days during a critical production window. 
 

Key provisions of the bill

The "Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026" was designed to fix these vulnerabilities by focusing on three pillars: expanding access, controlling costs and streamlining processes.

On the pillar of expanding access, the bill removes the outdated seasonality requirement. It redefines eligible labor as temporary work of 350 days or less, opening the program to year-round operations. Crucially for the potato industry, the bill also expands access to packing sheds that handle commodities in their natural state, regardless of the facility's location or ownership.

To help control costs, the bill provides predictability. Between 2018 and 2025, the national Adverse Effect Wage Rate surged 45% from USD 12.20 to USD 17.74 per hour, outstripping inflation by 70%. The new bill limits annual wage fluctuations to a maximum 3.5% increase or 1.5% decrease, codifying the predictable wage methodology introduced by the Trump Administration.

Finally, the legislation helps streamline the process by eliminating duplicative paperwork, introducing a single, centralized online platform for employer-agency interactions and transferring the authority to define agricultural labor from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture. 
 

Call for congressional action

The National Potato Council argues that consumers are blessed with fully stocked grocery store shelves but are not entitled to them. The organization warns that if agriculture fails to secure the hands that harvest its crops, Americans will face empty shelves and greater reliance on foreign food imports. With the border secured and 50 original bipartisan co-sponsors backing the bill, the NPC is urging Congress to act on the "Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026" to protect family farms and safeguard America's food supply.