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    <number>135</number>
    <updateDate>2022-11-01T14:02:53Z</updateDate>
    <updateDateIncludingText>2022-11-01T14:02:53Z</updateDateIncludingText>
    <originChamber>Senate</originChamber>
    <type>S</type>
    <introducedDate>2019-01-15</introducedDate>
    <congress>116</congress>
    <committees>
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        <systemCode>ssju00</systemCode>
        <name>Judiciary Committee</name>
        <chamber>Senate</chamber>
        <type>Standing</type>
        <activities>
          <item>
            <name>Referred to</name>
            <date>2019-01-15T22:45:12Z</date>
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        <actionDate>2019-01-15</actionDate>
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            <systemCode>ssju00</systemCode>
            <name>Judiciary Committee</name>
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        <sourceSystem>
          <name>Senate</name>
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        <text>Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.</text>
        <type>IntroReferral</type>
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      <item>
        <actionDate>2019-01-15</actionDate>
        <text>Introduced in Senate</text>
        <type>IntroReferral</type>
        <actionCode>10000</actionCode>
        <sourceSystem>
          <code>9</code>
          <name>Library of Congress</name>
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    </actions>
    <sponsors>
      <item>
        <bioguideId>T000250</bioguideId>
        <fullName>Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]</fullName>
        <firstName>John</firstName>
        <lastName>Thune</lastName>
        <party>R</party>
        <state>SD</state>
        <middleName>R.</middleName>
        <isByRequest>N</isByRequest>
      </item>
    </sponsors>
    <cosponsors>
      <item>
        <bioguideId>C001096</bioguideId>
        <fullName>Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]</fullName>
        <firstName>Kevin</firstName>
        <lastName>Cramer</lastName>
        <party>R</party>
        <state>ND</state>
        <sponsorshipDate>2019-01-31</sponsorshipDate>
        <isOriginalCosponsor>False</isOriginalCosponsor>
      </item>
      <item>
        <bioguideId>R000605</bioguideId>
        <fullName>Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]</fullName>
        <firstName>Mike</firstName>
        <lastName>Rounds</lastName>
        <party>R</party>
        <state>SD</state>
        <sponsorshipDate>2019-02-13</sponsorshipDate>
        <isOriginalCosponsor>False</isOriginalCosponsor>
      </item>
    </cosponsors>
    <policyArea>
      <name>Immigration</name>
    </policyArea>
    <subjects>
      <legislativeSubjects>
        <item>
          <name>Foreign labor</name>
        </item>
        <item>
          <name>Temporary and part-time employment</name>
        </item>
        <item>
          <name>Unemployment</name>
        </item>
        <item>
          <name>Visas and passports</name>
        </item>
      </legislativeSubjects>
      <policyArea>
        <name>Immigration</name>
      </policyArea>
    </subjects>
    <summaries>
      <summary>
        <versionCode>00</versionCode>
        <actionDate>2019-01-15</actionDate>
        <actionDesc>Introduced in Senate</actionDesc>
        <updateDate>2019-10-04T12:50:40Z</updateDate>
        <text><![CDATA[ <p><b>Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act</b></p> <p>This bill authorizes additional H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers in states with relatively low unemployment. Currently, such visas are capped nationally at 66,000 a year.</p> <p>For positions in states that had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.5% or lower in three of the five most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly reports issued in the previous fiscal year, a certain number of H-2B visas may be issued that don't count against the 66,000 per year cap. For such exempted H-2B visas, a state may receive each year no more than 125% of the number of visas for aliens working in the state in the last completed fiscal year or 2,500, whichever is less.</p>]]></text>
      </summary>
    </summaries>
    <title>Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act</title>
    <titles>
      <item>
        <titleType>Display Title</titleType>
        <title>Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act</title>
      </item>
      <item>
        <titleType>Short Title(s) as Introduced</titleType>
        <title>Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act</title>
        <billTextVersionName>Introduced in Senate</billTextVersionName>
        <billTextVersionCode>IS</billTextVersionCode>
      </item>
      <item>
        <titleType>Official Title as Introduced</titleType>
        <title>A bill to prioritize the allocation of H-2B visas for States with low unemployment rates.</title>
        <billTextVersionName>Introduced in Senate</billTextVersionName>
        <billTextVersionCode>IS</billTextVersionCode>
      </item>
    </titles>
    <textVersions>
      <item>
        <type>Introduced in Senate</type>
        <date>2019-01-15T05:00:00Z</date>
        <formats>
          <item>
            <url>https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116s135is/xml/BILLS-116s135is.xml</url>
          </item>
        </formats>
      </item>
    </textVersions>
    <latestAction>
      <actionDate>2019-01-15</actionDate>
      <text>Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.</text>
    </latestAction>
  </bill>
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    <dc:language>EN</dc:language>
    <dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
    <dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
    <dc:description>This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
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