U.S. House Chairs Ask for H-2A Effectiveness Evaluation

Two U.S. House of Representatives committee chairs recently sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking it to evaluate the effectiveness of the H-2A visa program. The letter was sent by Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina and Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania. The H-2A visa program, widely used in agriculture, allows employers to hire foreign workers only if U.S. workers are unavailable.

“Employers have become increasingly frustrated with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulations that make the program unnecessarily difficult to use,” the letter states.

The letter points out that most farmers pay workers the H-2A visa program’s minimum wage, which is known as the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR). In February 2023, DOL revised its methodology for determining the AEWR. “Employers have expressed concerns about the affordability of employing H-2A workers under the AEWR regulations,” the letter states. “Many have cited the AEWR methodology and overall cost structure as the number one issue facing their farms, thereby preventing them from using the H–2A visa program.”

In March 2024, the House Agriculture Committee’s Agricultural Labor Working Group issued its final report with policy recommendations on the challenges facing farmers in meeting workforce needs. Among many recommendations, the report recommended further study of the H-2A program, including the AEWR.

The letter from Foxx and Thompson concludes: “In light of the challenges facing farmers and of DOL’s requirements in the H-2A visa program, we are interested in learning more about the impact of the AEWR on employers and workers. We request that GAO address the following questions:

1. To what extent does implementation of the AEWR impact employers’ ability to access and utilize the H-2A program?
2. What is known about the positive or negative effects of H-2A wage, housing and transportation requirements on U.S. workers similarly employed?
3. What steps is DOL taking, or should it be taking, to ensure proper implementation of the AEWR rules?
4. What are stakeholders’ and experts’ views on the AEWR and potential alternatives?”

Source: U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee

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