Michael F. Bennet

10/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/29/2024 10:43

Bennet, Hickenlooper, Bipartisan Colleagues Push for More Temporary Work Visas to Help Small Businesses in Colorado

Bennet, Hickenlooper, Bipartisan Colleagues Push for More Temporary Work Visas to Help Small Businesses in Colorado

October 29, 2024

Denver - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), alongside 37 of their bipartisan colleagues, to urge the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release the maximum allowable number of additional temporary, non-agricultural (H-2B) visas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 to support local economies and fill needed roles for American small businesses.

"Many employers turn to the H-2B program to meet their workforce needs to not only sustain their businesses, but also support their American workers," wrote Bennet, Hickenlooper, and the senators. "The H-2B program places requirements on employers to recruit U.S. workers, who are intentionally prioritized by the program and also receive demonstrated, positive impacts from their seasonal colleagues. In fact, a 2020 Government Accountability Office report concluded that 'counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties that do not have any H-2B employers."

In Colorado, more than 8,400 temporary H-2B visas were requested by over 250 employers in Fiscal Year 2021 - reflecting a strong demand for H-2B workers in the state. In the letter, the senators highlight recent data from DOL's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Surveys illustrating the workforce struggles of seasonal businesses nationwide. The rate of job openings have increased annually for top five H-2B occupations. Landscaping, hospitality, and the ski industry - all key to Colorado's economy - are among the industries with the highest share of certified H-2B workers.

"As you know, the FY 2025 H-2B first half fiscal year cap was met on September 18, 2024-roughly three weeks earlier than the cap was met in FY 2024. The result is that seasonal employers whose peak seasons are in late fall and winter are capped out before their period of seasonal need begins. Absent cap relief, these employers will be unable to receive temporary, U.S. government-vetted guest workers," continued the senators.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, King, and Rounds, U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Cornyn (R-Teas.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), George Helmy (D-N.J.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Joe Manchin (I-W.V.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) also signed the letter.

Bennet and Hickenlooper have previously pushed DHS and DOL to increase the availability of H-2B visas and worked to ensure that the visa program is efficient and effective. In 2022, they welcomed an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Secretaries Mayorkas and Su:

We write on behalf of seasonal businesses in our states-including employers of housekeepers in tourist destinations, landscapers with defined seasons, seafood processors with short harvesting windows, and fairs and carnivals-who are struggling to hire a sufficient number of temporary, seasonal laborers to support their operations.

In light of these labor shortages, we strongly urge the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), to utilize the authority provided by Congress in the FY2025 Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act to release the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2025, as you did for Fiscal Year 2024. These visas will help employers handle their labor challenges, and provide additional certainty regarding their workforce planning decisions in the coming months. We urge you to promptly publish a temporary rule implementing the release of these supplemental visas.

Many employers turn to the H-2B program to meet their workforce needs to not only sustain their businesses, but also support their American workers. The H-2B program places requirements on employers to recruit U.S. workers, who are intentionally prioritized by the program and also receive demonstrated, positive impacts from their seasonal colleagues. In fact, a 2020 Government Accountability Office report concluded that "counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties that do not have any H-2B employers."

The most current employment data illustrates the workforce struggles of seasonal businesses nationwide. The Department of Labor's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Surveys (JOLTS) show the rate of job openings have increased year over year for the industries that represent the top five H-2B occupations. As you know, the FY 2025 H-2B first half fiscal year cap was met on September 18, 2024-roughly three weeks earlier than the cap was met in FY 2024. The result is that seasonal employers whose peak seasons are in late fall and winter are capped out before their period of seasonal need begins. Absent cap relief, these employers will be unable to receive temporary, U.S. government-vetted guest workers.

Congress has acknowledged this seasonal labor shortage by providing DHS with the authority to lift the H-2B visa cap for each of the past eight fiscal years. Given the growing demand for H-2B workers as employers continue to struggle with staffing shortages, we encourage you to promptly promulgate a temporary final rule for FY 2025 along the same lines as the FY 2024 rule.