Patrick Leahy: “I regret the need to once again call attention to the fact that the Senate continues to neglect our obligation to…”

“I regret the need to once again call attention to the fact that the Senate continues to neglect our obligation to respond to a crisis, caused by Federal policy, that is disrupting the operations of small and large businesses throughout the United States. Two months ago the Department of Homeland Security announced that for the first time ever the annual cap for H-2B visas had been met. These visas are used by a wide range of industries throughout the Nation to fill temporary labor needs. In my home State of Vermont, they are used primarily by the tourist industry. Across the country, businesses in a wide range of industries had developed plans that relied on the foreign employees who had always before been available to them. For years, these employers had applied in the spring for the employees they needed for the summer, filling positions for which they were unable to find American workers. The cap had never been reached, and they had no reason to believe this year would be different.”