New Bill Would Swell H-2B Program to Over 100,000 Annually
By Preston Huennekens on January 18, 2019
Each Congress begins with ambitious lawmakers ready to introduce new pieces of legislation. The new 116th Congress is no different. On January 15, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced the "Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act" (S.135), which would completely change the H-2B program, and not for the better. Thune's proposal would see the number of H-2B workers jump from 66,000 to over 100,000 every year. Thune introduced similar legislation last year as well.
The senator's office released a statement outlining its effects. The proposed legislation would provide states with low unemployment rates (under 3.5 percent) up to 2,500 H-2B guestworkers. These additional laborers would be exempt from the 66,000 annual cap. The bill mandates that states that had fewer than 2,500 workers the previous year would only be able to increase next year's total by 25 percent. For example, if a state had 1,500 H-2B workers in 2019, it could only receive 375 cap-exempt workers in 2020 under the legislation.
Thune's press release estimates that his bill would usher in great changes to the program. The statement reads:
https://cis.org/Huennekens/New-Bill-Would-Swell-H2B-Program-Over-100000-Annually
