NDFC - This Week in Congress & H2A Clarifications
This Week in Congress
June 19, 2026
The House is in recess this week and is not scheduled to hold votes. Members are expected to remain in their districts for constituent engagement, committee work, and district-based meetings.
The Senate considered several administration nominees, including the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). In addition, Senate leadership advanced a revised version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a housing affordability package that also includes certain provisions related to bank regulatory relief. The chamber revisited procedural votes related to advancing legislation to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which would continue existing surveillance authorities under updated authorization terms.
NDFC Urges Support for the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act
NDFC Members are urging immediate action by contacting their U.S. House Representatives and requesting that they become original cosponsors of the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act.
This critical legislation would modernize and strengthen the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program, the only visa program specifically designed to meet the labor needs of American agriculture. First enacted in 1986, the H-2A framework has remained largely unchanged for nearly 40 years, with only incremental updates made through regulatory action. During that time, the agricultural economy has evolved dramatically, while the program intended to support it has failed to keep pace.
The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act reflects bipartisan, stakeholder-driven recommendations developed by the Agriculture Labor Working Group in the House Agriculture Committee during the 118th Congress. This group—comprised of seven Republicans and seven Democrats—convened extensive roundtables with industry stakeholders to identify program deficiencies and craft practical policy solutions.
Today’s H-2A system is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of modern agriculture. Key challenges include:
• Structural limitations that restrict eligibility to seasonal labor, excluding year-round agricultural operations such as dairies and ranches
• Escalating costs, including required wage rates that have risen more than 70% above inflation from 2010 to 2025
• Administrative burdens, requiring employers to coordinate with three separate federal agencies—often through outdated, paper-based processes that delay workforce access and can contribute to crop losses
These shortcomings place unnecessary strain on agricultural producers and threaten long-term productivity and stability across the sector.
New H-2A Guidance for Dairy Farmers
On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, USDA welcomed a new guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) providing updated clarification on how the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program applies to dairy operations.
The policy memorandum provides additional direction to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on how to evaluate H-2A petitions involving dairy-related work. It clarifies that dairying is an agricultural activity that may be eligible for consideration under the H-2A program when an employer can demonstrate a qualifying temporary or seasonal labor need.
This clarification explains how USCIS officials should review H-2A applications tied to dairying, but it is not a change in current H-2A statutory or regulatory requirements, nor does it create a dairy-specific exception from existing standards. Instead, dairy operations will continue to be evaluated under the same legal framework as all H-2A employers, with determinations made on a case-by-case basis based on demonstrated need.
Under the guidance, dairy farms may qualify for H-2A workers when they can show a temporary or seasonal labor need. Farms with distinct breeding or calving seasons may be able to establish qualifying seasonal labor demands tied to those production cycles. The memorandum also recognizes that certain herd management activities vary throughout the year, creating potential seasonal labor needs. Employers may therefore demonstrate a qualifying temporary or seasonal need when workers perform tasks that differ between spring and summer versus fall and winter.
Importantly, the memo clarifies that non-seasonal duties—such as milking—may still be performed by H-2A workers, provided there is a qualifying seasonal component to the role, such as breeding or calving, that establishes the temporary or seasonal nature of the position.
Officials emphasized that labor availability remains a persistent challenge for many dairy producers nationwide. The clarification is intended to provide greater certainty for employers while maintaining protections for U.S. workers and ensuring compliance with existing federal law.
The USDA further noted it will continue to work with DHS, DOL, and USCIS as implementation proceeds.
Reconciliation 2.0 Enacted; President Trump Signs Second Party-Line Spending Package, Signals Push for Additional Defense Funding
The Senate and House have now completed action on a second reconciliation package for the current fiscal cycle, marking another significant use of the budget reconciliation process to advance partisan funding priorities outside the traditional bipartisan appropriations framework.
The Senate passed the measure on June 5, followed by House approval last Tuesday. In the House vote, all Republican members supported the bill, while all Democrats opposed it. Representative Kiley (I-CA), who caucuses with House Republicans, also voted against the measure alongside Democrats. President Trump signed the legislation into law on Wednesday.
The newly enacted package, referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from last summer’s reconciliation process, builds on earlier funding measures that provided approximately $280 billion in combined resources for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. The second reconciliation bill further consolidates federal funding priorities by effectively financing core operational needs for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the remainder of the Trump administration.
With this latest enactment complete, the administration is now calling on Congress to consider a third reconciliation package that would include an additional $350 billion in supplemental funding for the Department of Defense.
The repeated use of reconciliation to advance large-scale funding legislation represents a notable departure from longstanding congressional norms, which generally viewed reconciliation as a mechanism for deficit reduction or limited budgetary adjustments rather than a vehicle for sustained agency funding. Critics of this approach argue it may further erode bipartisan cooperation in the annual appropriations process, while supporters contend it provides a more efficient pathway to secure priority funding in a divided legislative environment.
As Congress moves forward, the continued reliance on reconciliation is expected to remain a central point of debate over the proper scope and use of the budget process in federal policymaking.
FISA Section 702 Lapses as Congress and White House Clash Over Extension, Leadership, and Election Bill Linkage
Federal authority under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which permits the government to collect intelligence on non-U.S. persons located outside the United States without a warrant, lapsed last week after Congress failed to approve an extension.
The expiration followed an extended period of partisan disagreement over both the substance of a short-term reauthorization and broader disputes involving intelligence leadership and election legislation.
Prior to the lapse, President Trump urged Congress to pass a short-term extension of Section 702 authorities. However, the administration simultaneously announced that Bill Pulte would assume the role of acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on June 19, earlier than previously anticipated, and directed him to begin downsizing the Office of the DNI. Democrats have indicated they will not support any FISA extension while Pulte is positioned to serve as acting DNI.
Complicating negotiations further, President Trump also stated that he would oppose any extension of Section 702 unless it is paired with the SAVE America Act, the Republican-backed election security proposal. That legislation, however, does not currently have sufficient bipartisan support to advance in the Senate.
On Thursday, Speaker Johnson (R-LA) brought a short-term FISA extension to the House floor under suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. The measure failed to advance, with a majority of the House—218 members—voting against it.
In the Senate, efforts to advance two separate short-term extension bills by unanimous consent also failed. Sen. Wyden (D-OR) objected in both instances, blocking expedited consideration.
Following the failed House vote, President Trump nominated Jay Clayton, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair and current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as the next Director of National Intelligence.
Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) is expected to bring a FISA extension measure to the floor this week for an initial procedural vote. That vote could set up consideration of a longer-term extension as early as next week, though the path forward remains uncertain given ongoing disagreements over leadership, policy conditions, and procedural constraints.
As of now, the lapse of Section 702 authority, combined with competing political demands and leadership transitions, has created a significant impasse over the future of U.S. surveillance authorities.
FY 2027 Appropriations Process Advances in House as Senate Stalls Over Spending Levels
The House Appropriations Committee has now advanced all but one of its Fiscal Year 2027 spending bills, marking substantial progress in the annual appropriations process and positioning the chamber well ahead of the Senate in completing its committee work.
In contrast, the Senate has yet to begin formal consideration of its FY 2027 appropriations bills. While it is typical for the Senate to proceed more slowly than the House due to its requirement for bipartisan agreement, the process has now effectively stalled amid unresolved disputes over topline spending levels.
At the center of the impasse is a fundamental disagreement between the two parties over overall funding allocations. Senate Republicans are advocating for a significant increase in defense spending paired with reductions in domestic discretionary programs. Senate Democrats, by contrast, are pushing for more balanced topline allocations between defense and non-defense accounts.
The disagreement has prevented the Appropriations Committee from reaching a framework agreement necessary to begin moving individual spending bills through regular order.
Last week, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) canceled committee markups for the second consecutive week, citing a lack of meaningful progress in negotiations and accusing Democrats of failing to engage in good-faith discussions over spending levels.
With the Senate process on hold, attention is increasingly focused on whether leadership can reach a bipartisan topline agreement that would allow committee work to resume. Without such an agreement, the FY 2027 appropriations process risks further delay, increasing the likelihood of reliance on stopgap funding measures later in the fiscal year.
