Speech #1090120042

Late in 2005. the Senate voted overwhelmingly. 94 to 6. to include our Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 as an amendment to the defense supplemental bill. This legislation. which was eventually signed into law by President Bush. helped to temporarily solve a serious problem facing small businesses. especially seafood operations in Virginia. as well as others across the Nation. For each of the 2 years prior to our measure being signed into law. the statutory cap on H2B visas was reached soon after the fiscal years began. In 2004. the cap was reached on March 20. and in 2005 the cap was reached on January 3. As a result. many businesses. mostly summer employers. were unable to obtain the temporary workers they needed because the cap was filled prior to the day they could even apply for the visas. Consequently. these businesses sustained significant economic losses. The fix that Congress provided in 2005 exempted from the 66.000 statutory cap workers who had worked under the H2B visa program in prior years and who had adhered to the rules by returning to their home country when their visas expired. However. this legislation was only for 2 years. As a result. on October 1. 2006. when the law expires. these employers and workers will face the same problem unless we adopt the amendment before us today. In order to avoid this problem. our amendment simply extends the successful H2B visa exemption to ensure the program will not revert to its troubled. original form while work continues on a permanent solution. This will allow our small and seasonal companies an opportunity to remain open for business until a new permanent fix within comprehensive immigration reform can be passed into law and fully implemented. Without these modifications. these employers will struggle to find the necessary employees to keep their businesses running. Before I close. I want to be clear about the purpose of this amendment. There has been much said about Senator SPECTERS amendment and what it will or will not do. Regardless. his amendment will create a new H2C temporary worker visa. In the long run. this new work visa will help ease the pressure on the H2B visa program that exists today. However. it is now April. and the current H2B exemption expires in October. only a few months from now. Even if Congress were to pass an immigration bill and have it signed into law before then. it will take many. many months if not years before any new visa programs can be ready to accept applications. This is an uncertainty that small businesses cannot afford. Many employers across America. such as seafood processors. landscapers. resorts. pool companies. carnivals. and timber companies. rely upon the H2B program. The seafood industry in Virginia. in particular. is dependent on this program to keep their business running. This industry has been built on decades of earned respect for their incomparable products. They represent traditions that have been in place for hundreds of years. These traditions have proven more successful than attempts to modernize or automate the process. Without access to the H2B visa program. this traditional respect across the world will be lost. never to be regained. The current system in place since 2005 has allowed these small a Wl seasonal businesses opportunity to hire a legal workforce to supplement and maintain the fulltime domestic workers they already employ. If we want these employers to stay in business. the current H2B exemption must be extended until a permanent solution or a new visa program can be implemented. I strongly support this amendment. and I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join 5 with me to help these small and seasonal businesses by passing this legislation as quickly as possible.