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By Rachel Umansky-Castro, Bloomberg Government Farm Brief

A bill seeking to revamp a visa program allowing farmers to hire temporary foreign workers has been touted by advocates as a boon for the agriculture industry, but even they acknowledge it faces an uphill climb.

House Agriculture Chair GT Thompson (R-Pa.) unveiled the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act in June, saying it’s a way to streamline an outdated system and tackle the farm country’s “workforce crisis.”

But the legislation faces stiff headwinds once lawmakers return from the midterm elections, with a growing list of other priorities to tackle before year’s end.

“Right now, everybody’s out, you know, politicking, you know, they’re doing their speeches, they’re trying to get elected, right? So nothing’s going to happen right now,” said Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association, who called the legislation “one of the best bills we’ve had presented in a very, very long time.”

The bill is focused on updating the H-2A labor program. It would stabilize wage calculations, expand eligibility beyond seasonal work, and streamline applications through an electronic system. Critics have said the bill doesn’t go far enough, with some arguing that the expansion of H-2A visas should not come without a green card pathway for workers.

Adding to the challenge of passing the bill is Congress’ crowded itinerary in the coming months. The House and Senate, for example, are currently in talks to strike a deal on a farm bill lawmakers can send to President Donald Trump‘s desk.

“The agriculture industry has made it clear that the H-2A program must be modernized for the 21st century,” Thompson’s communications director Caroline Leach said in a statement, adding Thompson is continuing conversations to keep the bill “top of mind for legislators, now and after the elections.”

Lorin Harvey, a Mississippi State University sweet potato specialist, said 97% of Mississippi’s sweet potato planting and harvesting workforce uses H-2A visas. “Without a functional H-2A program, you don’t have a sweet potato industry,” Harvey said, pointing to wage fluctuations, paperwork, and year-round labor needs as key areas for reform. He says the bill, whatever its flaws, tackles most of the pressing issues connected to the H-2A program.

“It doesn’t solve everything, no, but I don’t know that adding them in will give it a higher likelihood to pass, to be honest,” Harvey said.