{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-applauds-administration-taking-action-streamline-h-2a-visa-program/", "Dr. Rand Paul Applauds Administration for Taking Action to Streamline H-2A Visa Program", "2018-05-24", "2018", "2018-05", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nMay 24, 2018\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released the following statement after Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this afternoon that their departments are working together to simplify the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program:\n\n\u201cI have worked in Congress on behalf of Kentucky farmers and all other employers who rely on the H-2A program to streamline the application process, create greater government accountability, and increase the program\u2019s flexibility to meet reality. I am encouraged to see the administration respond to the push for reform, and I applaud President Trump and his Cabinet for working to continue the progress we have made to reduce the heavy bureaucratic burden Washington has placed on the American people and our economy.\u201d\n\nPreviously, farmers have reported massive financial losses due to H-2A application delays, and excessive paperwork has resulted in backlogs lasting 30 days or longer at both the Department of Labor and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).\n\nIn July 2017, Dr. Paul reintroduced the Paperwork Reduction for Farmers Act (S. 1578) to create a more efficient process for farmers applying for new H-2A workers or reapplying for the same employees. He previously introduced the legislation in 2016.\n\nYou can find the text of the Paperwork Reduction for Farmers Act and a summary of its provisions below:\n\nThe Paperwork Reduction for Farmers Act:\n\n\u2022 Creates a simplified application for employers hiring returning workers and guarantees worker approval pending any necessary security checks. Farmers must currently reapply for their returning H-2A employees as if they were new workers;\n\n\u2022 Allows multi-employer joint contracts so workers are guaranteed their hours without farmers struggling to find either enough work for employees or extra workers when there is too much to do;\n\n\u2022 Enables farmers to apply for workers with staggered start and end dates on the same application, eliminating a massive paperwork burden;\n\n\u2022 Updates a system that still often relies on snail mail by directing USCIS to create an online \u201cRequest for Evidence\u201d (RFE) system, which would then require USCIS to provide an update within ten business days instead of delaying the process for weeks;\n\n\u2022 Provides due process by requiring the government to promptly give a reason for the denial or delay of H-2A workers to the employer and to provide a reasonable time to remedy the problem;\n\n\u2022 Widens eligibility by including livestock workers (including dairy and poultry) and equine workers as qualifying H-2A employees;\n\n\u2022 Speeds up approval process for replacement workers should hires prematurely abandon their position or fail to appear for employment, ensuring farmers are not left short-handed for the season.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:57:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-applauds-administration-taking-action-streamline-h-2a-visa-program/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6500859744846821, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}