# 119-s-4249: FARM Stability Act

119-s-4249, FARM Stability Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4249
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4249
- Congress: 119
- Title: FARM Stability Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-26
- Sponsor: Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Two-tiered wage rate** would require the Secretary of Labor to set annual wage tiers for H-2A agricultural workers by skill level. It would also create a housing compensation adjustment tied to HUD 4-bedroom fair market rents when higher agricultural minimum wages apply. - Workers: H-2A roles would be split into Skill Level I for entry-level work and Skill Level II for jobs needing experience, formal education, training, or significant agricultural experience. Skill Level II must receive a higher wage than Skill Level I. - Pay and housing: Wage rates would get a compensation adjustment based on the weighted statewide average of HUD fair market rents for a 4-bedroom unit. That housing factor would be capped at 30 percent of the applicable wage rate. - Administration and scope: The Secretary would set the two-tier rates and the housing adjustment every year. These provisions apply only when a higher minimum wage than the federal or state agricultural minimum is required for H-2A workers.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] (R-ID), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC] (R-SC), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New two-tier pay for farmworkers: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the Labor Secretary to set state-level, two-tier hourly wages for H-2A farm jobs each year. Jobs needing entry-level skills would be Skill Level I. Jobs needing experience, formal education, training certificates, or significant farm experience would be Skill Leve…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-s-5526: Agricultural Act of 2026
- 119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-4249 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4249)

## Related
- [119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2296)
- [119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4784)
- [119-s-5526: Agricultural Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5526)
- [119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-401)
- [119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-587)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4249 (as of 2026-08-11).