[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H7090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WORKFORCE CHALLENGES ON GUAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Guam 
Temporary Workforce Act. A near 100 percent denial of temporary H-2B 
petitions on Guam has hindered our island's ability to grow the economy 
and provide affordable and timely services for our civilian population.
  While our community fully supports providing job opportunities and 
career advancement for those already living on Guam, we do not have the 
population or the organic workforce to fill the labor demands of our 
island. Local companies have tried to recruit from other territories 
and mainland United States, all to no avail.
  I am pleased that we made some progress in alleviating these 
workforce challenges in the defense bill that we are considering this 
week, but, Mr. Speaker, we need to do more. The Guam Temporary 
Workforce Act would make sure that local labor needs are met by giving 
the Governor of Guam more input in temporary labor need determinations. 
Specifically, it would allow him to certify the temporary needs of 
Guam's civilian labor market while safeguarding the local economy from 
overreliance on temporary workers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this very, very important 
measure and to support our island economy

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