[House Report 104-469]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                            Rept. 104-469
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                      Part 4
_______________________________________________________________________


 
      IMMIGRATION IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST ACT OF 1995; TEMPORARY 
                 AGRICULTURAL WORKER AMENDMENTS OF 1996
                                _______


                 March 21, 1996.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


Mr. Roberts, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the following

                  S U P P L E M E N T A L R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2202]

    This supplemental report contains the Congressional Budget 
Office cost estimate on H.R. 2202, as amended by the Committee 
on Agriculture, that adds a new subtitle B to title VIII, the 
Temporary Agricultural Worker Amendments of 1996, and relevant 
conforming amendment thereto.
    The Congressional Budget Office cost estimate was not 
available to be included in the report submitted by the 
Committee on Agriculture on March 8, 1996 (H. Rept. 104-469, 
Part 3), recommending passage of the bill, as amended, by the 
House.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 18, 1996.
Hon. Pat Roberts,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman. The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed intergovernmental mandates cost estimate 
for the amendment of the Committee on Agriculture to H.R. 2202, 
the Temporary Agricultural Worker Amendments of 1996.
    This bill would impose intergovernmental mandates, as 
defined in Public Law 104-4, but would impose no private sector 
mandates.
    The bill would affect revenues and direct spending of the 
federal government, and estimates of those effects have 
previously been provided to the committee.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

    Congressional Budget Office Estimated Cost of Intergovernmental 
                                Mandates

    1. Bill number: Amendment of the Committee on Agriculture 
to H.R. 2202
    2. Bill title: Temporary Agricultural Worker Amendments of 
1996
    3. Bill status: As ordered reported by the House Committee 
on Agriculture on March 8, 1996.
    4. Bill purpose: The Temporary Agricultural Worker 
Amendments of 1996 would create a temporary agricultural worker 
classification designated H-2B (in reference to its subsection 
designation in title 8) and establish requirements for 
employers who wish to hire aliens under that provision.
    5. Intergovernmental mandates contained in bill: The 
amendments would require state employment security agencies 
(SESAs) to review affidavits filed by the prospective 
employers, maintain files of those documents for a limited 
period of time, and provide employers with proof of filing.
    6. Estimated direct costs to State, local, and tribal 
governments: (a) Is the $50 Million Threshold Exceeded? No. (b) 
Total Direct Costs of Mandates: CBO estimates that these 
mandates would impose minimal direct cost on state, local, and 
tribal governments. (c) Estimate of Necessary Budget Authority: 
Not applicable.
    7. Basis of estimate: This estimate is based on information 
provided by state employment security officials in the states 
likely to be significantly affected by this legislation. CBO 
anticipates that between 25,000 and 100,000 workers would 
participate in the H-2B program each year.
    We expect that most affidavits filed by employers would 
cover more than one alien employee and that the average cost of 
processing and filing each affidavit would be between $15 and 
$20. We therefore estimate that the direct costs of 
implementing these requirements would total less than $500,000 
annually. Furthermore, because SESAs currently review and file 
similar documents under other alien worker classification 
provisions, existing procedures could be used to fulfill the 
requirements of this amendment, thereby minimizing additional 
costs.
    Finally, the costs of SESAs are financed with federal funds 
through the Department of Labor. Therefore, we expect that any 
additional responsibilities would ultimately be funded by the 
federal government.
    8. Appropriation or other federal financial assistance 
provided in bill to cover mandate costs: None.
    9. Other impacts on State, local, and tribal governments: 
None.
    10. Previous CBO estimate: None.
    11. Estimate prepared by: Leo Lex.
    12. Estimate approved by:
                                         Robert A. Sunshine
                                          (For Paul N. Van deWater,
                               Assistant Director for Budget Analysis).
                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 21, 1996.
Hon. Pat Roberts,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman. The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 2202, the Immigration in the National Interest 
Act of 1995, as reported by the House Committee on Agriculture 
on March 8, 1996. The Agriculture Committee added to title VIII 
of the bill a subtitle B, which would establish a new 
nonimmigrant category for temporary agricultural workers. This 
new program, called the H-2B program, would be authorized 
through 1999 and would be limited to no more than 250,000 
workers in the first year and smaller numbers in subsequent 
years.
    Attached is a table summarizing the estimated spending and 
revenue effects of the Agriculture Committee's version of H.R. 
2202. The Agriculture Committee's amendment would affect the 
federal budget in three ways: (1) The government would receive 
additional revenues totaling about $94 million over the 1997-
2000 period because employers of H-2B aliens would have to pay 
an amount equivalent to the federal tax that employers are 
obligated to pay under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) 
and the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). These 
payments would total 8.45 percent of taxable earnings.
    (2) The government would spend about $67 million on 
administrative expenses to operate the H-2B program and on 
emergency medical services provided to H-2B aliens.
    (3) The government would lose about $117 million in 
revenues over the 1997-2000 period because the H-2B aliens 
would displace illegal aliens whose wages would be subject to 
FUTA and FICA taxes. About $90 million of the loss applies to 
Social Security taxes that are recorded as off-budget receipts.
    In aggregate, therefore, CBO estimates that creating the 
new nonimmigrant category would result in a loss of revenue of 
$23 million and an increase in direct spending of $67 million 
over the 1996-2000 period.
    CBO prepared an intergovernmental mandate statement for 
this legislation on March 18, 1996. The bill would impose no 
private sector mandates as defined in Public Law 104-4.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Mark 
Grabowicz, and, for revenues, Peter Ricov.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

         ESTIMATED FEDERAL BUDGETARY IMPACT OF H.R. 2202, AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE      
                                    [By fiscal year, in millions of dollars]                                    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1996       1997       1998       1999       2000       2001       2002  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS ACTION                                   
Authorizations:                                                                                                 
    Estimated Authorizations Level.        129        699        774        856        960        978        996
    Estimated Outlays..............          0        532        637        940        994        956        976
                                                                                                                
                                         MANDATORY SPENDING AND RECEIPTS                                        
Revenues:                                                                                                       
    New Criminal Fines and                                                                                      
     Forfeiture....................          0      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)
    Temporary Agricultural Workers                                                                              
     (Off-Budget)..................          0        -10        -22        -48        -10          0          0
    Temporary Agricultural Workers                                                                              
     (On-Budget)...................          0          9         16         33          9          0          0
    Earned Income Tax Credit.......          0         14         13         12         13         13         13
                                    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Change in Revenues.........          0         13          7         -3         12         13         13
            (Off-Budget)...........          0        -10        -22        -48        -10          0          0
            (On-Budget)............          0         23         29         45         22         13         13
Direct Spending:                                                                                                
    New Criminal Fines and                                                                                      
     Forfeiture....................          0      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)
    Immigration Enforcement Account          0      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)
    Supplemental Security Income...          0        -10        -80       -160       -260       -370       -670
    Food Stamps....................          0          0        -15        -45       -100       -170       -250
    Family Support.................          0         -1        -13        -23        -48        -63        -78
    Medicaid.......................          0         -5       -110       -240       -390       -570       -830
    Federal Employee Retirement....          0          2          4          2          0          0          0
    Temporary Agricultural Workers.          0         10         19         36          2          0          0
    Earned Income Tax Credit.......          0       -216       -214       -218       -222       -224       -229
                                    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Change in Direct Spending                                                                               
         Outlays...................          0       -220       -409       -648     -1,018     -1,397     -2,057
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Less than $500,000.