SAWA Bill Would Extend H-2A Access to Greenhouse Growers
July 1, 2026 
Worker from the H-2A program. | Photo: Legacy Labor
For many CEA operations, one of the biggest limitations of the federal H-2A guest worker program has been its historical focus on seasonal labor. A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House on June 30 seeks to address that disconnect through several changes that directly affect greenhouse operations.
The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA), introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.), would explicitly include controlled environment agriculture among the agricultural activities eligible for H-2A. Supporters describe the legislation as the first comprehensive statutory update to the H-2A program in nearly 40 years.
Among its provisions, the bill would replace H-2A’s requirement that jobs be both “temporary and seasonal” with a temporary employment standard, allowing contracts of up to 350 days. It would also transfer responsibility for defining agricultural labor and services from the U.S. Department of Labor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and establish new parameters for calculating the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), a key factor in growers’ labor costs.
For greenhouse operators, those changes would align the H-2A program more closely with the labor needs of year-round CEA production.
Broad Industry Support, but Debate Ahead
The proposal has been applauded by a broad coalition of agricultural organizations that have issued statements supporting the legislation, citing ongoing labor shortages, rising labor costs, and the need for a guest worker program they say better reflects modern specialty crop production.
The bill has also drawn opposition. The United Farm Workers and UFW Foundation argue that the proposal would weaken wage protections and expand the H-2A program in ways that could reduce opportunities for U.S. workers. Those competing viewpoints are expected to shape debate as the legislation moves through Congress.
Like many agricultural labor reform efforts before it, SAWA faces an uncertain legislative path. Still, its introduction signals renewed congressional attention to workforce issues affecting specialty crop agriculture.
Whether the bill ultimately advances or not, its explicit inclusion of CEA marks one of the clearest acknowledgments by Congress to date that greenhouse production presents labor needs distinct from those contemplated when the H-2A program was originally developed.
Growers who want to follow the legislation can monitor updates through organizations such as AmericanHort, the International Fresh Produce Association, and their state greenhouse or produce associations, many of which are expected to remain engaged as Congress considers the bill.