SOURCE: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/25/18

The future of the H-2A agricultural guest-worker program has been thrust into the spotlight in recent days, as both the Trump administration and certain House Republicans have presented options on how to revamp the agricultural visa program. Now, the problem is: Who should tackle it?

Trump administration's take: The Agriculture, Labor, State and Homeland Security departments announced suddenly on Thursday that they are working together to reform the program to address complaints that farmers have long made about H-2A. The agencies did not offer specific details on what kind of reforms they will propose, but said the joint effort will seek to reduce "cumbersome bureaucracy and [ensure] adequate protections for U.S. workers."

House GOP's side: Meanwhile, a wide-ranging immigration bill written by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte has been at the center of an immigration showdown that helped doom the vote on the House farm bill last week and has GOP lawmakers battling over whether to join with Democrats to support a discharge petition that would force votes on immigration measures. Goodlatte's bill includes his previous proposal to overhaul H-2A's existing 10-month guest-worker structure to allow agricultural producers to apply for year-round labor.

Goodlatte, for his part, said agency-led changes would "only provide temporary relief from onerous H-2A regulations." The existing temporary visa program "is expensive, flawed, plagued with red tape, and isn't available to farms that require year-round labor," he said in a statement on Thursday, adding that a "permanent legislative solution is needed."

Farm groups weigh in: Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Western Growers, offered support for the administration's effort to revamp H-2A but also echoed Goodlatte's position.

"While this effort to implement administrative changes are most welcome, key aspects of the H-2A program can only be modified by statute," Nassif said. "This is why we continue to call on Congress to enact immigration reform legislation that provides a workable path to legalization for our existing workforce and creates a new guest-worker visa program to ensure ready access to an adequate supply of labor in the future."

What about timing? It's unclear when changes can be expected from Congress or the administration, but the agencies said they "look forward to delivering a more responsive program soon."