H-2B Bill Passage: How the Votes Went

Think your voice doesn’t count? In a recent interview with Lawn & Landscape, industry professional Chuck Twist said legislators realize that for every phone call, fax or letter they receive on a particular issue, there’s likely many more people in their state with the same concern.

“The thing that’s so important to remember is that it only takes one phone call to get something going,” Twist said in an article published last month on Lawn & Landscape Online. “Our legislators know that for every phone call that comes in, there are a thousand more just like it waiting to be made. For H-2B, it’s really our responsibility to make sure that impact is there by calling often and getting other people in the industry to call, as well.Moreover, Twist noted that while the senators from his state of Oklahoma did not sign on to cosponsor S. 352, the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005, that didn’t mean they weren’t going to vote for it.

Indeed, upon reviewing the summary of votes on the H-2B bill yesterday, a whopping 94 senators – including one from Oklahoma – gave their approval, though only 38 were actively cosponsoring the legislation. Likewise, both senators from Delaware gave 'yea' votes, as did both senators from New York. Last month, Tony Sposato, owner of Milton, Del.-based Sposato Landscape, and Larry Labriola, president of Carmine Labriola Contracting Corp. in Scarsdale, N.Y. told Lawn & Lanscape that they met with their senators' aides to discuss the H-2B issue and encourage their support. While both Sposato and Labriola had noted that their senators were noncommital at the time they discussed the bill, their current support for it shows that making your voice heard on Capitiol Hill is possible and effective.

Check the chart below to find out how your senators voted yesterday on the Mikulski amendment and click here to find out where you can focus your lobbying efforts among members of the House of Representatives. Additionally, be sure to thank those senators who gave ‘yea’ votes and ask for their continuing support regarding the H-2B bill. Contact information for senators is available through www.senate.gov and www.house.gov provides contact information for members of the House of Representatives.