With only weeks to go before the lame-duck Congress leaves Washington, the push is on to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
Congressman Dan Newhouse says there has been good progress in the last few days, especially when it comes to farm wages.
“We’re making some really good progress. Some of the stumbling blocks or the challenges in the House language are being addressed in a positive way in the Senate. And so, I think the number of republican senators that are indicating support or a likelihood of voting yes is growing. We just recently got the projected wage numbers, the percentage and the number of increases that each state would see in the adverse wage rate is pretty significant for some states, 14-15% increases over last year,” said Rep. Newhouse.
Congress is working to get this passed before the end of the year because some senators fear it will not be brought back next session. Groups like the American Farm Bureau have previously said they oppose the H-2A provision within the bill.
