Currently, the most promising proposition for passing the H-2B program's returning-worker exemption is the one-year emergency fix that Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) proposed in October. It’s an amendment (SA 3311) attached to an appropriations bill for Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) for a one-year exemption for returning H-2B workers not to be included in the numerical cap of 66,000 visas. The amendment was written to be made retroactive to the beginning of fiscal year 2008, which began Oct. 1. The amendment would expire on Sept. 30, 2008.
The Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Acts of 2007 are still alive and getting co-sponsors, but are less promising at this point, according to employer group Save Small Business. House bill H.R. 1842 (proposing a permanent H-2B returning worker exemption) has 98 co-sponsors; Senate bill 988 (proposing a five-year extension) has 35 co-sponsors. Forty Senate co-sponsors and 100 House co-sponsors are needed, Save Small Business says.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The most promising solution at this point – Mikulski’s amendment – is attached to the CJS appropriations bill, which must now be heard in a combined House and Senate Conference. The House Conferees have not yet been named. Of the Senate Conferees, only six of 19 are co-sponsoring the H-2B amendment, according to the Federation of Employers and Workers of America.
Once the appropriations bill comes out of conference, President Bush will have to either sign or veto the bill.
In the event of a veto, the H-2B amendment will be lumped into an omnibus appropriations bill that wraps funding for defense, labor, health and education and other issues into one. Again, this bill would be passed on to President Bush to sign or veto.
Industry groups hope that one of these scenarios passes before Christmas, otherwise no H-2B relief would take place until 2008. By then, H-2B users will be preparing for their busy seasons, still unsure if they’ll be able to fulfill client contracts and commitments.
| WHAT'S THE HOLD-UP THIS YEAR? |
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H-2B users in crisis-mode due to the threat they may not get the guest workers they’re counting on for next year may find themselves wondering why the situation is so dire this year. Several factors this year have combined to make it difficult to pass even a one-year extension to the returning-worker exemption. One issue is the polarized atmosphere surrounding the comprehensive immigration reform bill, which Congress failed to pass in June. Though H-2B is a non-immigrant seasonal visa program, some senators and representatives on both sides of the fence are neglecting to support H-2B out of fear it will tie them to the divisive comprehensive immigration debate. Other members of Congress are avoiding supporting an H-2B fix because they only want to see visa issues taken care of as part of comprehensive immigration reform, not piece by piece. The second major factor this year is interest from deep-pocketed labor unions, as evidenced by the Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act (S. 2094) proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). In addition to increasing the prevailing wage conditions of H-2B, this bill would require a number of stricter measures for employers, posting job notifications in certain locations at least 14 days before applying for H-2B visas and first offering the job to any eligible U.S. worker who applies and is qualified and available when needed. The bill would also allow workers whose wages are “directly and adversely” affected by employers violating H-2B laws and regulations to bring a civil action against them. S. 2094 was introduced on Sept. 26 and referred to the Judiciary Committee where it remains. --Marisa Palmieri |
