Government Affairs - Detail

MLA Reports Movement on H-2B

May 19, 2008

The Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved an amendment offered by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) to a supplemental spending bill that will renew the H-2B relief for three years, and is retroactive to October 1, 2007. The Mikulski-Gregg H-2B Amendment will renew policy which had been in effect since 2005 but expired on September 30, 2007. This policy exempted returning H-2B workers from the arbitrary limit of 66,000 workers that are allowed to participate per year. Because this provision was not renewed, the limit of 33,000 workers for the first half of the fiscal year was reached three days before the fiscal year began and the second half limit of 33,000 was met four months before the second period began. Although the amendment was overwhelmingly approved in by the committee, the bill must now be passed by the full Senate and a final bill negotiated with the House of Representatives. The Mikulski-Gregg Amendment must be retained through the entire legislative process to ensure H-2B relief is enacted. For more information, please contact Michael P. Auerbach at 617-720-1776.