[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 10 (Thursday, February 3, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S982-S983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS:
  S. 278. A bill to revise certain requirements for H-2B employers and 
require submission of information regarding H-2B non-immigrants, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, the recent shortage of H-2B nonimmigrant 
visas for temporary or seasonal non-agricultural foreign workers is a 
matter of great concern to many small businesses in my home State of 
Maine, particularly those in the hospitality sector that rely on these 
seasonal workers to supplement their local employees during the height 
of the tourism season.
  On January 4, a mere 3 months into fiscal year 2005, the U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services, CIS, announced that it would 
immediately

[[Page S983]]

stop accepting applications for H-2B visas because the annual statutory 
cap of 66,000 visas had been met. In other words, many employers who 
require temporary workers in the spring, summer, or fall will be unable 
to hire such workers because all 66,000 H-2B visas will already have 
been issued within the first few months of the fiscal year. Once again, 
Maine's employers will be left out in the cold, disadvantaged by their 
later tourism season.
  Without these visas, employers will be unable to hire enough workers 
to keep their businesses running at normal levels. Last year, unable to 
locate enough American workers willing and able to take these jobs, and 
without temporary foreign workers to fill the gap, many business owners 
were forced to initiate stop-gap measures that were neither ideal nor 
sustainable in the long term. Many of these businesses fear that, this 
year, they will have to decrease their hours of operation during what 
is their busiest time of year. This would translate into lost jobs for 
American workers, lost income for American businesses, and lost tax 
revenue from those businesses. These losses will be significant, and 
they can be avoided.
  This is why I am today introducing the Summer Operations and Seasonal 
Equity Act of 2005. Similar to legislation that I cosponsored last 
year, this bill would exclude from the cap returning workers who were 
counted against the cap within the past 3 years. Ths legislation also 
seeks to address the inequities in the current system by requiring that 
no fewer than 12,000 visas be made available in each quarter of the 
fiscal year. By holding back a limited number of visas for use in each 
quarter, we will ensure that employers across the country, operating in 
all four seasons, have a fair and equal opportunity to hire these much-
needed workers.
  We must act quickly on this legislation, however, or we will be too 
late to help thousands of American businesses that need our help now. 
We cannot be content to say: ``It's too late for this year; maybe next 
year.'' It is true that comprehensive, long-term solutions may be 
necessary, but we have immediate needs as well. This problem demands 
immediate solutions.
  In my home State of Maine, the economic impact of this visa shortage 
will be harmful and widespread. When people think of Maine, what often 
comes to mind is its rugged coastline, picturesque towns and villages, 
and its abundant lakes and forests. Not surprisingly, tourism is the 
State's largest industry. Temporary and seasonal workers play an 
important role in this very important industry.

  This is because, unfortunately, there are not enough American workers 
willing and able to fill the thousands of jobs necessary to provide the 
level of service that Maine's visitors have come to expect. Over the 
years, seasonal workers have filled this gap, becoming an integral part 
of Maine's tourism and hospitality industry. In fiscal year 2003, the 
last time Maine's employers were able to fully utilize the H-2B 
program, Maine employed more than 3,000 seasonal workers. The majority 
of these individuals worked in the State's resorts, inns, hotels, and 
restaurants. Many are people who have returned to the same employer 
summer after summer.
  Let me emphasize that employers are not permitted to hire these 
foreign workers unless they can prove that they have tried, and failed, 
to locate available and qualified American workers through advertising 
and other means. As a safeguard, current regulations require the U.S. 
Department of Labor to certify that such efforts have occurred before 
CIS will process the visa applications. Therefore, unless and until 
more H-2B visas are made available, many of these jobs will remain 
unfilled and American businesses will suffer.
  A similar situation faces Maine's forest products industry, which 
contributes approximately $5.6 billion annually to Maine's economy. In 
2003, more than 600 temporary workers--mostly from Canada--were 
employed as forestry workers in Maine. Many work in remote areas of the 
State where there are not enough Americans able to take these jobs. By 
some estimates, these foreign workers account for as much as 30-40 
percent of the wood fiber that supplies paper and saw mills throughout 
Maine and the Northeast. This number represents roughly 4.8 million 
tons of wood annually. With an already significant shortage in the wood 
supply, the loss of these temporary workers poses a serious threat to 
the industry and to Maine's economy. With fewer workers available to 
bring wood out of the forest and into mills, supplies will dwindle, 
prices will continue to rise, and mills may be forced to curtail 
production, or even temporarily discontinue operations. If this 
happens, it is American workers who may lose their jobs.
  The effects of the H-2B visa shortage are not limited to the tourism 
and forest products industries, however. It will also be felt by 
fisheries and lobstermen, junior league hockey and minor league 
baseball teams. It will affect small businesses and large, visitors and 
locals, young and old, from Maine to Maryland, to Wyoming and Alaska.
  The shortage of nonimmigrant temporary or seasonal worker visas is a 
problem that must be addressed, and soon. I believe that this 
legislation offers a workable short-term solution, and I urge us to 
move forward with this solution. We must resist the tendency to let 
this problem, and the people who are affected by it, become entangled 
in the larger debate about our Nation's immigration policies. This is 
not about the number of immigrants we should allow to come to the 
United States each year, or what to do with those who violate our 
immigration laws. It is about temporary workers who, for the most part, 
respect our laws, go home at the end of their authorized stay, and in 
many cases, return again next year to provide services that benefit our 
nation's economy. It is about American businesses that rely on these 
workers to take jobs that many Americans do not want. It is about the 
economic impact that will be felt across the Nation if these businesses 
are unable to hire temporary workers. We need to solve this problem 
now, before it is too late and our economy is harmed and jobs lost.
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