WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, condemned the removal of her H2B visa provision from the Senate emergency spending package this morning. The amendment, co-sponsored by Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), would have provided a three year extension of an H2B returning worker provision originally passed as part of Senator Mikulski’s Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act. The provision, which expired on September 30, 2007, exempts returning workers who have played by the rules from counting against the 66,000 cap on visas.

“My amendment was a very simple amendment. There was no new law. We broke no new ground. We created no new rights or privileges. All we did was extend current law. This provision protects our borders, protects America’s jobs, and rewards people who go by the rules,” said Senator Mikulski in a floor speech today. “This is a program with a proven track record. Yet Congress’ failure to extend this provision is forcing small businesses to deal with devastating cuts to their workforce. Companies in Maryland and around the country are unable to get the H2B visas, and workers, that they need and depend on. Small and seasonal businesses are counting on us, and we are letting them down.”

The Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act, signed into law by President Bush in May 2005, made significant changes to the federal H2B (non-skilled seasonal worker) visa program. Among the changes, it exempted returning seasonal workers from counting against the national cap of 66,000 people. This provision, however, was not made permanent in the 2005 bill, and has to be extended each year until Senator Mikulski’s proposal to make it permanent is passed into law. A last-minute, one-year extension was included as part of the 2007 Department of Defense authorization bill, but it expired on September 30, 2007.

Senator Mikulski joined Senator John Warner (R-Va.) in March 2007 to introduce a stand alone bill to extend the provision, and also included it as an amendment to the comprehensive immigration packages considered by the Senate in 2007. Unfortunately, no bill was brought up for a final vote before the provision’s expiration. Senator Mikulski also attempted to include an extension, as Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee, into the fiscal year 2008 CJS spending bill. This provision, which unanimously passed the Senate, was removed in Conference with the U.S. House of Representatives.