Senate Passes H-2B Bill

The signature of President George W. Bush is the last step for the temporary fix of the H-2B program to become law.

Published May 11, 2005

Fla

The organization dubbed "Save Small Business" sent out an excited e-mail update yesterday to companies involved in the H-2B program and legislative reform. "The senate passed the Save Our Small & Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 by a vote of 100 to zero," the message emphasized. The bill is now on President Bush's desk waiting to be signed into law.

The bill, also referred to as the Mikulski Amendment for its author Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and became part of the Emergency Supplemental funding bill that will send resources to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While many industries including hospitality, theme parks, food packing and horse breeding also have been heavily involved in putting this reform together, The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) and the Professional Landcare Network were at the forefront of the push for legislation on the part of the green industry. Both associations banded together with organization from other industries to form the H-2B Workforce Coalition earlier this year.

In a statement last week when the bill's Senate passage was still pending, ANLA thanked everyone involved in the effort for their dedication and hard work. "The inclusion of the H-2B fix in this bill is the direct result of individual small business owners and the communities they serve actively participating in the public policy process," said John Meredith, ANLA co-chair to the H-2B Workforce Coalition. "This not a case of a special interest group influencing Congress but rather constituents mobilizing their political influence to shape law as needed for them to prosper in these difficult times."

Watch Lawn & Landscape Online for news on the president's signature on this bill and reactions from around the industry.

ABOUT THE SAVE OUR SMALL & SEASONAL BUSINESSES ACT OF 2005 


    Introduced on Feb. 10, The “Save Our Small & Seasonal Business Act of 2005," (S.352, H.R. 793) was developed by the newly formed H-2B Workforce Coalition in order to effect change in the flawed H-2B program for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. With its support from Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, it is also know as the Mikulski Amendment to an emergency supplemental spending bill currently in a congressional conference committee.

    If passed, the bill would:

  • Exempt workers who have participated in the H-2B program for any of the past 3 fiscal years from the 66,000 cap and direct the Department of Homeland Security to immediately resume the processing of petitions for these workers. This provision would take effect immediately and expire on Oct. 1, 2006.
  • Allow the Department of Homeland Security to impose a “fraud prevention and detection” fee of $150 for each petition filed. This section would not take effect until Oct. 1, 2005.
  • Allow the Department of Homeland Security to impose a fine of up to $10,000 per violation and prohibit the use of the H-2B program for one to five years for a “willful misrepresentation of a material fact” in a petition. This section would not take effect until Oct. 1, 2005.
  • Specifies that only 33,000 of the 66,000 workers subject to the cap can be used during the first six months of the fiscal year. This provision would be a permanent change to the program.
  • Require the Department of Homeland Security to notify Congress on a quarterly basis of the number of visas issued and the number of visas that were expired or revoked. This reporting must be in place by March 1, 2006.
  • Require the Department of Homeland Security to report annually to Congress, beginning in fiscal 2007, on the number of visas issued and expired and on the previous fiscal year’s H-2B workers’ countries of origin, occupations and wages.

"Congress will not take immediate action on this bill unless senators and congressional representatives continue to hear concerns about the issue from their constituents: You, your employees and other local businesses who use the program," notes the Professional Landcare Network in a news release on its Web site.

The association encourages companies to provide feedback to PLANET and the American Nursery & Landscape Association on their activities and any meetings or conversations that contractors have with their elected officials.

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