H.R. 5038: Overhauling visas for farm workers
Voting 266 for and 165 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill that would overhaul the H-2A visa program, which admits undocumented migrants for temporary U.S. agricultural jobs the domestic workforce is unable or unwilling to fill. Over time, the bill could enable hundreds of thousands of these workers to apply for legal residency for themselves, spouses and minor children. In addition to meeting labor shortages, the bill would grant up to 40,000 Green Cards annually to those who complete a lengthy path to permanent status and establish a mandatory federal “E-Verify” system by which agricultural employers could determine workers’ immigration status. Under the bill, migrants employed in U.S. farm work for at least 180 days over the two preceding years would qualify for Certified Agricultural Worker status, which they could continually renew by working at least 100 days annually in farm jobs. In addition, undocumented workers (and spouses and minor children) employed in U.S. agriculture before the law takes effect would qualify to pursue legal status. Those with at least 10 years of pre-enactment farm employment could apply for permanent residency by paying a $1,000 fine and working four more years; those with fewer than 10 years would have to pay the fine and work eight more years. All applicants would have to clear criminal and national-security background checks. The bill would freeze overall migrant farm workers’ pay for one year, then allow wages to rise by 3.25% annually over the next nine years; authorize up to 20,000 H-2A visas annually for jobs at year-round operations including dairies; expand the availability of migrant housing; and require mediation in place of lawsuits to resolve disputes under a 1983 migrant workplace law. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Yes: Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st (Bucks, parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia); Madeleine Dean, D-4th (Montgomery, southern Berks); Susan Wild, D-7th (Lehigh, Northampton and southern Monroe), Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th (Chester).
No: Dan Meuser, R-9th (Schuylkill, parts of Carbon and Berks) retiree health care. The bill sets a 3.1% pay raise for uniformed personnel; confronts global warming as a national-security threat; requires Pentagon strategies for countering Russian interference in U.S. elections; and funds programs for military victims of sexual assault. In addition, the bill creates the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the military; ends the “widow’s tax” on Pentagon death benefits received by an estimated 65,000 survivors who also receive veterans’ survivor benefits; and establishes 12 weeks’ paid family and medical leave for the federal civilian workforce to accommodate childbirth, adoptions, foster care and serious illnesses. A yes vote was to approve the fiscal 2020 military budget.
Yes: Fitzpatrick, Dean, Wild, Houlahan, Meuser several overlapping environmental laws that unduly hinder economic development. A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
No: Fitzpatrick Dean, Houlahan, Wild
Not voting: Meuser averting a scheduled increase to 10% in 2020. A yes vote was to adopt the Republican alternative. Yes: Fitzpatrick, Meuser
No: Dean, Houlahan, Wild