A group of Senate Republicans has joined Senate Democrats to demand President Joe Biden import more H-2B foreign visa workers to take working-class, blue-collar American jobs.
On Monday, 17 Senate Republicans signed a letter with 17 Senate Democrats that urges Biden to “release the maximum allowable number of additional” H-2B foreign visa workers to inflate the labor market despite more than 12 million Americans remaining jobless, though all want full-time employment.
The senators also asked Biden to speed up the process so U.S. employers could get foreign visa workers quicker into blue-collar American jobs, often in construction, landscaping, the tourism industry, and other occupations.
“Without meaningful H-2B cap relief, many seasonal businesses will be forced to scale back operations, cancel or default on contracts, lay off full-time U.S. workers, and, in some cases, close operations completely,” the senators wrote.
The 17 Republicans who signed the letter are:
Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
Mike Rounds (R-SD)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
James Risch (R-ID)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
John Thune (R-SD)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Rand Paul (R-KY)
John Barrasso (R-WY)
Tim Scott (R-SC)
--->READ MORE HERE
A group of Senate Republicans have allied with Democrats in demanding President Joe Biden import more foreign workers.
In a letter dated February 9, 17 Republican Senators signed their names beside 17 Democrats, urging “that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), utilize the authority provided by Congress to release the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas,” for the Fiscal Year.
Writing on behalf of their respective states’ seasonal businesses, the bipartisan group of legislators added, “Without meaningful H-2B cap relief, many seasonal businesses will be forced to scale back operations, cancel or default on contracts, lay off full-time U.S. workers and, in some cases, close operations completely.”
This letter comes at a time when the nation is facing the highest inflation in 40 years and with more than 12 million American unemployed workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics February 4 report.
The more than 12 million number is derived from counting the 6.5 million unemployed Americans and 5.7 million who’ve stopped looking for work and does not account for the 3.7 million Americans who are underemployed.
While the letter cites five years of congressional precedent and language in the Continuing Resolution that authorizes DHS to provide this cap relief, with over 400,000 Americans reporting that the current labor market lacks available jobs, the senators fail to address what, if any, data they have that suggests this move will be a boon to the economy during a continued downward trend. --->READ MORE HERE
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