GOVERNMENT


Inside The Beltway Appropriations Proviisions A


OABA’s Appropriations Provisions Advance in the House


As you may recall from last month’s article, Congress was consumed by reviewing and passing the twelve spending measures it must pass to avoid a government shut down by  of writing this article, House Republicans passed four of the   others from subcommittee, making progress in their goal of wrapping up action by the August recess. The two bills of key concern to us remain the funding measures for the


Department of Homeland Security, H.R 8752 and the Department of Labor’s funding measure. In 2023, the Republican led House of Representatives did not consider two of the twelve funding measures – Commerce, Justice, and Science and the Department of Labor, Health and Hund Services. As we move briskly toward meeting leadership’s goal of completing all bills before the August recess,


Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) vowed to stay on track and ensured that the House Appropriations Committee votes on all 12 measures. Hard-line conservatives, who often oppose their own party’s spending bills, have given the new Chairman good reviews so far. Cole backed a plan to slash domestic spending by 6% in his committee’s bills, reneging on a previous bipartisan agreement to allow a 1% increase. Representative Andy Harris (R-MD), a member of the Freedom Caucus and the Appropriations Committee, said Cole listens to conservatives and is running the panel like “a well-oiled machine.” Some appropriators are skeptical all 12 bills will be marked up. Cole wants to hold a committee vote but said it might not happen if Republicans struggle to agree on the measure’s wide range of policy riders.


20 OABA ShowTime Magazine • August 2024


John Ariale, Husch Blackwell St rategies – OABA’s Government Relations Team OABA Appropriations Pr


sions Advance in the House Momentum C ntinues on the CARE A Momentum Continues on the CARE Act


Status of H-2B Cap Relief in the FY25 Bill On June 12, 2023, the House Appropriations Committee


advanced the Fiscal Year 2025 Homeland Security Appropriations Act by a vote of 33-26. During consideration of the legislation, we worked closely with our Congressional Champions to adopt an amendment to the bill that requires the Secretary, upon determining that the needs of American businesses cannot be met with existing workers in the U.S., to increase the H-2B numerical cap. The Amendment was offered by Congressman Harris (R-MD) and Congresswoman Pingree (D-ME) and changed the base text on releasing supplemental H-2B Visas from “may to shall.” The amendment passed and was included in the bill as it was reported out of Committee. On June 28, 2023 the House considered the bill on the  Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year 2025. Unfortunately, anti-immigration organizations made an overwhelming push to remove the Harris amendment from the text of the bill and return the “shall” language to “may. The effort to change the Harris language was successful but keeps in place the language we have operated under for the last several years and granted the DHS Secretary discretionary authority to increase the H-2B visa cap after determining the needs of American businesses  While it seems that lawmakers understand the need for additional guest workers, some are hesitant to support a reliable, functional and robust guest worker program because  over securing the border. Opponents of our position state that requiring additional visas under the H-2B program falls short in protecting American workers and preventing employers from importing more foreign labor. They often add that this position is particularly perilous at a time when our workforce  who have entered the country illegally, and that the provisions are a slap in the face to Americans who are searching for work, underemployed, or struggling to make ends meet. Finally, some organizations mention that American workers deserve policies that ensure employers prioritize them ahead of foreign workers willing to work for less money.


nce in the House,


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