agriculture workers for seasonal work in the United States. Democrats, and some Republicans, were harshly critical of the overhaul proposed by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), but the Committee narrowly passed the bill by a 17-16 vote. Throughout the markup, Democrats argued the plan would undercut U.S. wages in the agricultural sector by importing low-cost labor. However, agriculture businesses have suffered in recent years from a labor shortage, and this proposal was praised by industry leaders for expanding their access to new workforces. Representative Goodlatte’s bill would replace the H-2A program with an H-2C system which would allow foreign nationals to work year-round under the new system, issue 500,000 visas, and establish $8.34/hour as the minimum wage allowed for the visa holder. California is the fourth most popular site for H-2A visa holders, but guest-workers occupy a relatively small portion of the labor force under the current program. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has supported H-2A visa replacement programs in the past but has shown no interest in moving such a bill through the Senate.
Source: Rural County Representatives of California
