A Fresh Shot at H-2A Reform And Why It Matters for TNLA Members

On June 30, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA) introduced  a bipartisan bill that would deliver the first statutory reform to the H-2A visa program since it was created under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. That's 40 years without an update to a program that green industry employers across Texas increasingly depend on.
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Chairman Thompson didn't mince words when he introduced the bill: "Congress has not updated the H-2A visa program since Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, and if you ask anyone who used the program, they'll say that you can tell." He's right and TNLA members who have wrestled with H-2A's paperwork, unpredictable wage rules, and rigid seasonal limits know it firsthand.

Why This Bill Matters to TNLA Members

The bill directly addresses several of the pain points our growers face every season. And while the most direct impact falls on them, a more stable H-2A program affects the entire green industry supply chain, from the retail nurseries selling what's grown to the suppliers who serve every business in between.

• It ends the rigid "seasonal-only" mandate. Current law limits H-2A contracts to 10 months. SAWA would allow contracts of up to 350 days, better matching how many in our industry actually run including businesses that need labor for most or all of the year, not just a narrow season.
• It reforms the wage-setting process. The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) methodology has been a major source of cost unpredictability for employers. The bill’s reforms aim to bring more certainty to labor costs, which matters when members are trying to budget and bid jobs months in advance.
• It opens the door for landscape companies to use H-2A. For years, landscapers have been boxed into the H-2B program, which is capped and routinely runs out before the season even gets going. SAWA would allow landscape businesses to tap H-2A — a program with no annual cap — for installation work, giving some members of ours a new alternative.
• It simplifies the process for grower operations and streamlines coordination among the federal agencies that jointly administer H-2A, a program many members already know is bogged down by fragmented, slow-moving bureaucracy.
• It authorizes related tasks, such as certain packing and transportation functions tied directly to H-2A work, which better reflects the real-world duties of production and landscape crews.

Even TNLA members who don't directly hire H-2A workers feel the impact of labor instability upstream. When growers can't staff up reliably, it means fewer plants on retail shelves, delayed installs, and softer demand for everything suppliers provide. A more predictable, workable H-2A program strengthens the entire Texas green industry pipeline, not just the businesses using the visas directly.
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Simply put: this is the most significant attempt in a generation to modernize a labor program that has an outsized impact on our entire industry and that you continue to see are being pushed toward as workforce shortages continue to squeeze the Texas green industry.

Take Action Today

Legislation this significant only moves with a full chorus of industry voices behind it. TNLA needs you to tell your member of Congress that H-2A reform can't wait another 40 years, whether your business grows it, installs it, sells it, or supplies it.

Visit TNLA's Action Center on VoterVoice to send a message to your representative urging them to support and cosponsor H.R. 9535, the Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act: 👉 www.votervoice.net/TNLA/Home
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It takes less than five minutes — VoterVoice will identify your congressman based on your address and let you send a pre-drafted (and fully editable) message directly to their office. The more Texas green industry voices Congress hears, the stronger the case for getting this bill across the finish line.

​As always, TNLA will keep members updated as this legislation moves in Congress. If you have questions about how this bill could affect your operation, reach out to TNLA's advocacy team.