Urging Congress to reform the federal guest worker program.

89(R) SCR 50 - Introduced version - Bill Text

89R27284 KSM-D

By: Johnson, Perry

S.C.R. No. 50

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Legal immigrants provide critical services in some

of the most important and often understaffed sectors, such as the

meat and dairy industries, agriculture, the food supply chain,

manufacturing, and construction; and

WHEREAS, In the World War II era, shortages of seasonal labor

prompted the federal government to create the H-2 temporary work

visa program, which today has two categories; employers can fill

seasonal agricultural jobs with foreign workers on H-2A visas,

while foreign workers on H-2B visas can be hired to fill temporary

jobs in other sectors, among them landscaping, forestry, seafood

processing, and hospitality; and

WHEREAS, Before utilizing the H-2 programs, employers must

make a concerted effort to hire qualified American workers for

their open positions and ensure that the guest worker will not

adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly

employed U.S. workers; although employers need to hire workers

quickly to complete harvests and other seasonal tasks, the H-2

application process for certification by the Department of Labor is

costly and cumbersome, and the extensive documentation required

includes the disclosure of company information; and

WHEREAS, The H-2B program has a statutory numerical limit on

the total number of guest worker visas issued annually, even as the

rate of job openings among the top five H-2B occupations has

continued to grow, according to the Department of Labor's Job

Openings and Labor Turnover Surveys; in this decade, the fiscal

year cap has been reached consistently at an early stage,

threatening to shut out employers whose peak seasons occur in late

fall and winter; U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle have

joined in appeals to the Department of Labor and Department of

Homeland Security for the release of supplemental H-2B visas; and

WHEREAS, Friction in the guest worker program and burgeoning

workforce shortages have driven many businesses to employ

undocumented migrant workers in order to meet the demand for goods

and services; the situation is likely to grow even more

complicated, and employers should not be forced to choose between

breaking the law, operating with an insufficient workforce, or

outsourcing to other countries; and

WHEREAS, Labor scarcity and illegal immigration are

perpetual problems in the United States, and expanding and

streamlining the guest worker program would effect positive change

in both these regards; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reform the

federal guest worker program; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official

copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to

the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of

Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of

the Department of Labor, to the secretary of the Department of

Homeland Security, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to

the congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the

Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United

States of America.