Senate Leadership Removes Mikulski H-2B Amendment!
American People Still Have a Voice on Capitol Hill!
FAIR has received confirmation from Senate Republican Leadership that the Mikulski H-2B Amendment was been stripped from the Iraq War Funding Bill on the Senate floor this afternoon. Thanks to all our members, activists, and friends who called - and kept calling - until our voices were heard!
The H-2B amendment was added to the War Funding Bill last week by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) as the bill traveled through the Senate Appropriations Committee. The amendment reinstated for three years the returning worker exemption to the H-2B unskilled guest worker program which expired last year. Under the exemption, an alien who worked in the U.S. during the past three years under the H-2B program can return to the U.S. to work without counting towards the 66,000 cap. This exemption would have led to ever-growing numbers of unskilled H-2B guest workers entering the U.S. each year—increasing the number by hundreds of thousands!
The amendment was not only designed to appease special corporate interests addicted to cheap foreign labor, it defied common sense in the face of the struggling U.S. economy which has seen tens of thousands of workers lose their jobs over the past few months. However, your determination to make Congress hear the will of the American people made the difference! Thank you!
But even with this important victory, please remember that some sources are reporting that President Bush may veto the Iraq War Funding Bill. If that happens, another funding bill will likely come to the Senate floor and this kind of "must-pass" bill would be an attractive target for Senators seeking to attach special-interest amendments.
Please stay tuned to FAIR for all the latest information from Capitol Hill…
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