SE North Carolina News

Congressman David Rouzer (NC-07) has joined 119 colleagues in a bipartisan effort to urge House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education appropriations leaders to include an H-2A visa guestworker wage freeze in forthcoming government funding legislation.

In a letter addressed to the subcommittee's leadership, the Members expressed concerns about the annual adjustment to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). "We write with shared concerns regarding the annual adjustment to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). Now in 2024, the H-2A labor rates paid by agricultural employers have become more unaffordable, and it will certainly increase in 2025 as well. The new rates put further financial strain on farm operations of all sizes, and we urge you to include an H-2A wage freeze in Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations legislation. The national average AEWR has already more than doubled over the past two decades, making agricultural guest labor unaffordable for farm employers and resulting in higher consumer costs."

The letter further emphasized the need for immediate action: "While more permanent solutions are needed to address the AEWR’s past impact and its future trajectory, we request that the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations bill prohibit funds from being used to implement a wage larger than the January 2023 wage rate or otherwise freeze the H-2A wage rates at January 2023 levels. Thank you for your attention to this important matter."

As part of his role within the House Agriculture Committee’s Agricultural Labor Working Group, Congressman Rouzer has been collaborating with stakeholders, employers, and workers to navigate and mitigate challenges faced by America's agricultural workforce. In March, this working group released a report outlining twenty-one policy recommendations aimed at alleviating workforce issues affecting agriculture nationwide.