A Republican-controlled House committee moved to significantly expand foreign worker programs in a markup of the 2019 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill on Wednesday.
The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by GOP Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, tacked on two amendments that would raise annual caps on guest worker visas in agricultural and seasonal jobs. It also passed an amendment from Republican Kevin Yoder of Kansas that would reduce the backlog of employment-based green cards for high-skill workers from India and China.
The guest worker amendments pertain to two visa programs, the H-2A and the H-2B visa, that allow U.S. companies to bring in thousands of foreign laborers each year if they are unable to find American workers to fill the jobs. Business groups have long advocated for expanding both programs, arguing that there are not enough Americans willing or able to meet their labor needs.
In Wednesday’s markup session, the committee passed an amendment offered by GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington that would open the H-2A visa to more categories of agricultural jobs. The program, which has no annual cap, currently excludes some categories of agriculture jobs such as dairy farm workers.
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