Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Guam Temporary Workforce Act. A near 100 percent denial of temporary H-2B petitions on Guam has hindered our island's ability to grow the economy and provide affordable and timely services for our civilian population. While our community fully supports providing job opportunities and career advancement for those already living on Guam, we do not have the population or the organic workforce to fill the labor demands of our island. Local companies have tried to recruit from other territories and mainland United States, all to no avail. I am pleased that we made some progress in alleviating these workforce challenges in the defense bill that we are considering this week, but, Mr. Speaker, we need to do more. The Guam Temporary Workforce Act would make sure that local labor needs are met by giving the Governor of Guam more input in temporary labor need determinations. Specifically, it would allow him to certify the temporary needs of Guam's civilian labor market while safeguarding the local economy from overreliance on temporary workers. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this very, very important measure and to support our island economy ____________________”