Leahy Adds Several
Vermont Border And Immigration Priorities
To Supplemental Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON (Friday, May 16) – Sen.
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has won a key committee’s approval of a
measure to renew a program that promises to create hundreds of new
Vermont jobs by attracting millions in direct foreign investment.
In a Senate Appropriations Committee
voting session Thursday on a pending supplemental appropriations
bill, Leahy, a senior member of the panel, also included $1 million
for the State Department to use in border states like Vermont in
outreach efforts to prepare travelers and businesses for new
passport requirements that will take effect next year under the
controversial Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Leahy
also joined in adding to the bill provisions to extend and reform
visa programs vital to Vermont’s dairy farmers and to Vermont
businesses like ski areas that rely on seasonal workers. Leahy also
supported successful efforts in the bill to include an additional $1
billion for the cash-strapped Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP), and for an extension of unemployment benefits
needed by families hurt by the economy’s slide.
The committee adopted Leahy’s amendment
to extend the EB-5 Regional Center pilot program at the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a program that
promotes job creation and economic growth in Vermont and other rural
areas. Leahy also supported adoption of a pair of amendments that
would reform the H2-A visa program for temporary agriculture
laborers, and that would exempt returning seasonal workers from the
numerical cap on H2-B visas.
“Key parts of Vermont’s economy rely on obtaining timely visas for
foreign workers who assist dairy farmers and small business owners
in keeping their enterprises strong,” said Leahy. “I hope the
Senate will consider the impact these provisions will have on state
and local economies across the country, including in Vermont, and
will preserve the work the committee has done to provide seasonal
businesses and dairy farmers with the tools they need to keep their
businesses thriving. During a time of severe economic uncertainty,
I also hope the Senate will support the continuation of the EB-5
Regional Center program, which has been so successful in matching
foreign investors with American entrepreneurs and in providing jobs
and investment capital to communities in Vermont and across the
nation.”
The bill is expected to reach the Senate Floor for debate next
week. Leahy cautioned that the final form the bill will take
remains unclear, including the fate of domestic spending amendments
like these Vermont priorities.
Regional Center Pilot Program
The Appropriations Committee adopted the
Leahy-authored amendment to extend the Regional Center pilot program
– which is currently set to expire this September -- for another
five years. The pilot program was launched in 1993 and allows a
regional government agency or private corporation within a state to
apply to be designated as a Regional Center. Such a designation
allows agencies or entities to attract foreign investment to the
region, bringing money and jobs into regional economies. Two
Vermont ski resorts are actively participating in the Regional
Center pilot program, drawing more tourism and business to Vermont.
In March, Leahy introduced legislation to make the Regional Center
pilot program permanent. Vermont hosts one of 17 Regional Centers
across the country. The program has generated millions of dollars
in job-creating investments since 1993. In 2007 alone, Regional
Centers were credited with creating 10,000 new jobs in the United
States.
H2-B Visas
Leahy also supported a provision in the
supplemental spending bill to exempt returning seasonal workers from
the cap set for H2-B visas, which are given to foreign workers
performing seasonal labor in the United States. Vermont’s ski and
hospitality industries, among others, rely heavily on seasonal
workers. Because the returning worker exemption has expired,
returning workers currently count against the H2-B visa cap, which
is set at 66,000. Over the last several years this numerical cap
has increasingly been met earlier, leaving many employers without
the workers they need during their busiest seasons. Under the
Leahy-supported amendment, workers who return to an employer for a
consecutive year would not count against the cap, helping Vermont
businesses meet employment needs year-round.
Visas for Agricultural Workers
A second measure supported by Leahy and
adopted by the Appropriations Committee would significantly improve
the H-2A agricultural worker visa program for dairy farmers. Under
the existing H-2A program, dairy farmers have difficulty obtaining
H-2A workers given the year-round nature of dairy farming. A
requirement of the H-2A program is that the work for which the
worker is hired must be “temporary” or “seasonal.” A provision
long-championed by Leahy and included in the amendment would create
a special exemption for foreign dairy workers. Leahy’s provision in
the amendment would allow a dairy worker under the H-2A program to
remain with his or her employer continually for three consecutive
years. After three years, the worker could then apply to adjust his
or her status to become a legal permanent resident. The measure
would provide longer-term stability for dairy farmers, who depend on
agricultural workers throughout the year and often make significant
up-front investments in training their employees.
Outreach On WHTI Border Requirements
As chairman of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State
Department and Foreign Operations, Leahy included $1 million for the
Department of State to expand outreach in border communities in the
lead-up to implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI). Last year Leahy won enactment of his legislation
(with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska) to move the implementation of WHTI
to June 2009, allowing more time for better coordination to avoid
major delays at U.S. border crossings into Canada and Mexico.
Leahy’s WHTI outreach provision, now in both the House and Senate
supplemental appropriations bills, will expand outreach to the
traveling public about the types of documents that will be accepted,
how to apply for passports or Passcards, and when passport fairs
will be conducted to complete applications. Leahy has long urged
steps to smooth implementation of WHTI, through greater coordination
among the Departments of State, Homeland Security and the U.S.
Postal Service and pointed out that it is important to begin now
instead of waiting for next year’s budget. The Department of State
has budgeted less than $1 million for this outreach this year and
has already spent it all on radio advertising.
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