PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 9, 2004
Temporary Agricultural Work Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the H-2A (temporary agricultural worker) program.
Eliminates the labor certification process and instead requires employers seeking H-2A workers to provide attestations concerning: (1) wages and working conditions; (2) the nondisplacement of U.S. workers; (3) the lack of a strike or lockout; and (4) compliance with prior H-2A approvals. Establishes penalties for failing to meet, or misrepresentations concerning, attestations.
Replaces the adverse effect wage rate with a prevailing wage rate. Requires employers of H-2A workers to: (1) pay the greater of the prevailing wage or the applicable State minimum wage; (2) offer to provide housing or a housing allowance; (3) reimburse costs of initial transportation to the place of employment and provide transportation to the work site; and (4) guarantee employment for a specified period of time.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a procedure for the expedited adjudication of H-2A petitions.
Renders inadmissible and ineligible for H-2A status those aliens who previously violated the terms of their admission. Provides a one-time waiver for those who are outside the United States.
Amends the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to prohibit the Legal Services Corporation from: (1) providing legal assistance to aliens unless those aliens are present in the United States as H-2A workers; and (2) bringing a civil action on behalf of H-2A workers unless the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service has attempted to mediate the dispute.
People & committees
Sen. Chambliss, Saxby [R-GA] · R–GA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2445-2446)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2185 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2185 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2185 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2185 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.