D-Day, Sept. 30, approaches for hundreds of small businesses that rely on H-2B seasonal immigrant labor. Supporters of the 2006 Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act say they are “working our tails off” to keep it from becoming “Disaster Day.” Hank Lavery, president of Save Small Business, issued yet another urgent plea this week for help from H-2B users. What difference can I make?
By Bob West, LESCO That’s a fair question, particularly when you’re considering whether or not to get involved in government affairs. Most people -– regardless of their profession or industry -– feel so detached from the political scene in Washington, D.C., and so irrelevant to the politicians that they don’t see how they can make a difference in Washington. Unfortunately, this was obvious at the Save Small Business fly-in that took place Sept. 20 in Washington. The goal was to lobby for the extension of the H-2B legislation that landscape companies have used for the last few years and that is set to expire on Sept. 30. Despite the potential ramifications of the program’s expiration, only about 50 individuals attended this lobbying day, and most of them were from other industries – hotels, resorts, restaurants, fishing companies, etc. I understand the sense of disenfranchisement that precludes many Green Industry professionals from attending such an event. Other obstacles include the financial costs and the challenges of being out of the office. (More...) |
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“Keep pushing Congress to pass the Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Act of 2006,” exhorted Lavery in a stream of e-mail blasts to affected business owners and the media. Lavery’s activity is spurred by the 109th Congress, rushing to push through last-minute legislation, adjourning at week’s end. He said that there’s still time to call, fax or e-mail U.S. senators or representatives and urge them to support passage of the Bill. Save Small Business is a Bethesda, MD-based, coalition of H-2B user groups that has been working hand-in-glove with the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and several other industry groups for passage of the H-2B extension. “Either Congress will pass the Act in time, or Congress will fail in the final days to get it through. In the next days we will find out whether we will be allowed to continue to faithfully follow the immigration laws of the United States through our participation in the H-2B program,” Lavery says. The so-called Mikulski-Warner-Bass Bill is a 3-year extension to a similar bill passed in the spring of 2004. If passed, it would: - exempt returning seasonal workers from counting against the national cap of 66,000 seasonal immigrant visas,
- create new anti-fraud provisions
- ensure a fair allocation of H-2B visas among spring and summer employees.
Donald Mooers, a Washington D.C.-area attorney, active in immigration affairs, describes the proposed legislation as a “small business and not an immigration” bill. “We have almost unanimous support in both the Senate and the House,” he says. “We have more than 30 co-sponsors in the Senate and over 90 co-sponsors in the House.” Part of the problem with getting the H-2B extension passed by Congress is the sheer volume of other proposed legislation that awaits the attention of U.S. legislators. “The bills that Congress will be getting to this week are those that can get attached to the few bills that will be passed by the House and the Senate and signed by the President,” he explains. Craig Regelbrugge, the American Nursery and Landscape Association's senior director of government relations, agrees and encourages program users to keep up the pressure this week. "There are a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts going on right now to get cap relief extended," he said. "We are pushing it kind of close but right now, this is our shot to get something one. The message our folks need to bring to Congress is that if this is not done, the H-2B program will not work." RELATED ARTICLES IN 2006:
"H-2B bill hits critical mark for extension; fly-in planned," Sept. 14, 2006, LMDirect! "PLANET supports H-2B extension," Feb. 17, 2006, Landscape Management Week in Review "H-2B: Enough already?," Feb. 22, 2006, Landscape Management Week in Review "Senate starts immigration reform debate," March 22, 2006, Landscape Management Week in Review "Senate immigration debate heats up," April 5, 2006, Landscape Management Week in Review "USCIS reaches H-2B cap for second half of 2006," April 7, 2006, Landscape Management Week in Review | 
