Senator Collins is seeking to attach the amendment to another bill on the Senate floor.
"This issue is important to Maine's economy and important to so many of Maine's workers. If additional H-2B visas, upon which so many businesses rely, are not made available, it could have a damaging effect on our economy," said Senator Collins.
Projecting a reduction in timber harvest of nearly forty percent in the hardest-hit parts of the state, the forest products industry could face mill closures, furloughs, and layoffs. According to a study commissioned by the Maine Forest Product Council, Maine Pulp and Paper Council and the Forest Resources Association, loss of supply at this level would directly reduce employment by nearly 3,000 jobs at the mills. With multiplier effects, total economic effects on Maine could reach nearly 9,000 jobs lost, over $300 million lost in payroll, and approximately $1.5 billion in total output lost.
In addition, the tourism industry, upon which Maine's economy relies heavily during summer months, has also suffered because of the shortfall of H-2B visa workers. These shortfalls could affect the industry even more when students, who hold a number of these jobs, return to school in the fall prior to the official end of the tourist season.
In addition, Senator Collins is a cosponsor of two Senate bills, which also aim to address the problem of the current shortage of H-2B visas. Her most recent amendment was introduced in an effort to expedite a resolution to this problem. Both bills and the recent amendment would require that employers first demonstrate that all attempts have been made to hire American workers, but that despite efforts, the job vacancies remain.
The SOS Relief and Reform Act would allow employers who have hired H-2B visa workers in previous years to rehire these workers without their visas counting against the national cap, which was reached last spring. This provision would make additional visas available immediately.
In addition, it would require the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on a quarterly basis on the number of visas that have been issued and whether any of these visas have been revoked or otherwise terminated.
At issue is the current mandatory cap on the number of H-2B visas available nationwide. While the cap, 66,000, was met early this spring, employers who rely on the visas for summertime seasonal workers were not notified the cap had been met until after the Department of Homeland Security stopped processing H-2B visa applications. The situation has placed a heavy burden on industries ranging from hotels and restaurants to the forest products industry to the MAINEiacs hockey team in Lewiston.
Senator Collins has been working on several fronts to make more visas available to the businesses that need them. In addition to cosponsoring two bills in the Senate and this most recent amendment, she recently joined the Maine delegation to encourage the Secretary of Labor to reclassify forest workers so that they are eligible for an alternative type of worker visa.
"The availability of H-2B visas is vital to a wide range of industries in Maine. I will continue to seek ways to resolve this matter," said Senator Collins.
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