Goodlatte, Peterson, Smith, Cuellar, Newhouse, Conaway, Calvert Introduce the Bipartisan AG and Legal Workforce Act

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Representatives Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Michael Conaway (R-Texas), and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) recently introduced the bipartisan AG and Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 6417). Representatives Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus, Mark Walker (R-N.C.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, and John Katko (R-N.Y.), chair of the Tuesday Group, are also original cosponsors.
 
The AG and Legal Workforce Act replaces the outdated and broken H-2A agricultural guestworker program with a new, workable agricultural guestworker program, known as the H-2C program, to ensure America’s farmers and ranchers have access to a reliable workforce. The H-2C program is available to both seasonal and year-round agricultural employers, provides a generous visa allocation to ensure labor needs are met, provides much needed flexibility to minimize disruptions in farm operations, eliminates regulatory burdens, and contains effective accountability and enforcement provisions. These provisions are supported by over 200 agricultural groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation. 
 
The AG and Legal Workforce Act also requires all U.S. employers to use E-Verify, an effective web-based program that protects jobs for legal workers. The bill repeals the error-prone, paper-based I-9 system and replaces it with E-Verify. It contains a gradual phase-in for employers—starting with the largest employers first and eventually phasing in small businesses and agricultural employers...

Additional original cosponsors of the bill are: Representatives Ralph Abraham (R-La.), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), James Comer (R-Ky.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Ron Estes (R-Kan.), John Faso (R-N.Y.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Tom Marino (R-Pa.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), David Rouzer (R-N.C.), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.).

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