[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5155 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5155

     To require employers seeking a permanent labor certification 
  classification for the hiring of foreign workers to pay a fee of at 
                 least $10,000, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2026

  Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require employers seeking a permanent labor certification 
  classification for the hiring of foreign workers to pay a fee of at 
                 least $10,000, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Hiring Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. PERMANENT LABOR CERTIFICATION FEE.

    Section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1351) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking the section header and inserting ``visa 
        fees'';
            (2) by striking ``The fees for'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a) Nonimmigrant Visa Fees.--
            ``(1) In general.--The fees for'';
            (3) by striking the semicolon after ``residents'' and 
        inserting a period;
            (4) by striking ``Provided, That nonresident visas'' and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Fee waivers.--Nonresident visas''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Permanent Labor Certification Fee.--
            ``(1) In general.--In addition to any other fee authorized 
        by law, the Secretary of Labor shall require the payment of a 
        fee, in an amount equal to the amount specified paragraphs (2) 
        and (3), from any employer who files an Application for 
        Permanent Employment Certification (Form ETA 9089) or any 
        successor form, or any substantially similar application 
        designated by the Secretary that requires recruitment to 
        determine the availability of able, willing, qualified, and 
        available United States workers, at the time such application 
        is filed.
            ``(2) Initial amount.--During fiscal year 2027, the amount 
        specified in this paragraph shall be the greater of--
                    ``(A) $10,000; or
                    ``(B) such amount as the Secretary may establish, 
                by rule.
            ``(3) Annual adjustments for inflation.--During fiscal year 
        2028, and during each subsequent fiscal year, the amount 
        specified in this paragraph shall be equal to the sum of--
                    ``(A) the amount of the fee required under this 
                subsection for the most recently concluded fiscal year; 
                and
                    ``(B) the product resulting from the multiplication 
                of the amount referred to in subparagraph (A) by the 
                percentage (if any) by which the Consumer Price Index 
                for All Urban Consumers for the month of July preceding 
                the date on which such adjustment takes effect exceeds 
                the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for 
                the same month of the preceding calendar year, rounded 
                to the next lowest multiple of $10.
            ``(4) PERM fee account.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--There is established in the 
                general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which 
                shall be known as the `PERM Fee Account' (referred to 
                in this paragraph as the `Account').
                    ``(B) Deposits.--Of the fees received under this 
                subsection in a given fiscal year from employers filing 
                applications for permanent employment certification--
                            ``(i) 50 percent shall be deposited into 
                        the Account; and
                            ``(ii) 50 percent shall be deposited into 
                        the general fund of the Treasury.
                    ``(C) Use of account funds.--Of the fees deposited 
                into the Account in a given fiscal year--
                            ``(i) 50 percent shall be made available to 
                        the Secretary of Labor to expend without 
                        further appropriation; and
                            ``(ii) 50 percent shall be made available 
                        to the Director of the Office of Personnel 
                        Management to expend without further 
                        appropriation to upgrade and maintain the 
                        capabilities of the USAJOBS website or any 
                        successor platform to host job advertisements 
                        and process job applications in order to 
                        facilitate labor market testing.
            ``(5) No fee waiver.--Fees required to be paid under this 
        subsection may not be waived or reduced.''.
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