Congress caps temporary farm workers to protect U.S. farmworkers' wages
H.R. 7541 — U.S. Farmworker Protection Act · Filed by Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 12, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill caps the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program at 400,000 certified positions per fiscal year, down from the current 384,865 in 2024. Positions filled by workers represented by a labor union with a collective bargaining agreement are exempt from the cap. The bill's stated purpose is to protect U.S. farmworkers from wage depression and displacement as the H-2A program has grown 5-fold since 2008.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a numerical cap on temporary worker certifications, framed as domestic labor protection. It is substantively a labor-supply restriction designed to improve conditions for U.S. farmworkers by reducing competition from temporary foreign workers.
What the text implies
- The exemption for unionized positions creates a strong incentive for agricultural employers to either accept unionization or reduce their reliance on H-2A workers, potentially accelerating labor organizing in agriculture.
- A 400,000 cap is only ~4% below the 2024 level (384,865), suggesting the bill may have limited immediate impact on hiring but could constrain future growth and signal a policy shift.
- The bill does not address enforcement mechanisms or penalties for violations, leaving the cap's effectiveness dependent on DOL administrative capacity.
- Unionized agricultural workers are rare in the U.S.; the exemption may have minimal practical effect unless the bill is paired with organizing efforts or other labor-law changes.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
U.S. farmworkers gain protection from wage depression and displacement by reducing the supply of temporary workers competing for agricultural jobs. The exemption for unionized positions incentivizes collective bargaining, which historically improves wages and working conditions. The cap is modest (400,000 vs. 384,865 in 2024) and leaves room for legitimate temporary labor needs while prioritizing domestic worker protection.
Who stands to gain
- U.S. farmworkers (wage and employment protection)
- labor unions (incentive to organize agricultural workers)
Named in the bill
H-2A program, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA § 218), Secretary of Labor, National Labor Relations Act, labor organizations, agricultural employers, U.S. farmworkers
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 9 Democrats.
- Feb 12, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 12, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Pramila Jayapal, the sponsor, reported $289,750 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Ufw Foundation — $10,000 on 1 filing
- United Farm Workers — $0 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,981 characters) on Aug 11, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 22, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress caps temporary farm workers to protect U.S. farmworkers' wages” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7541 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.