EXAMINING THE ROLE OF LOWER–SKILLED GUEST WORKER PROGRAMS IN TODAY’S ECONOMY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MARCH 14, 2013 Serial No. 113–10 Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce ( Available via the World Wide Web: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/committee.action?chamber=house&committee=education or Committee address: http://edworkforce.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 79–739 PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE JOHN KLINE, Minnesota, Chairman Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin George Miller, California, Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California Senior Democratic Member Joe Wilson, South Carolina Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia Tom Price, Georgia Rube´n Hinojosa, Texas Kenny Marchant, Texas Carolyn McCarthy, New York Duncan Hunter, California John F. Tierney, Massachusetts David P. Roe, Tennessee Rush Holt, New Jersey Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania Susan A. Davis, California Tim Walberg, Michigan Rau´ l M. Grijalva, Arizona Matt Salmon, Arizona Timothy H. Bishop, New York Brett Guthrie, Kentucky David Loebsack, Iowa Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee Joe Courtney, Connecticut Todd Rokita, Indiana Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio Larry Bucshon, Indiana Jared Polis, Colorado Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Northern Mariana Islands Martha Roby, Alabama John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky Joseph J. Heck, Nevada Frederica S. Wilson, Florida Susan W. Brooks, Indiana Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon Richard Hudson, North Carolina Luke Messer, Indiana [Vacant], Staff Director Jody Calemine, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS TIM WALBERG, Michigan, Chairman John Kline, Minnesota Joe Courtney, Connecticut, Tom Price, Georgia Ranking Member Duncan Hunter, California Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee Timothy H. Bishop, New York Todd Rokita, Indiana Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio Larry Bucshon, Indiana Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Richard Hudson, North Carolina Northern Mariana Islands (II) CONTENTS Page Hearing held on March 14, 2013 ............................................................................ 1 Statement of Members: Courtney, Hon. Joe, ranking member, Subcommittee on Workforce Protec- tions ................................................................................................................ 4 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 6 Walberg, Hon. Tim, Chairman, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections ... 1 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3 Statement of Witnesses: Bauer, Mary, Southern Poverty Law Center ................................................. 19 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 21 Benjamin, Fred, chief operating officer, Medicalodges, Inc. ......................... 15 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 16 Musser, R. Daniel III, president, Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MI ......... 29 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 31 Reiff, Laura, principal shareholder, Greenberg Traurig; chair, Business Immigration and Compliance Group on behalf of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition .................................................................................. 8 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 10 Additional Submissions: Andrews, Hon. Robert E., a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey: Letter, dated March 18, 2013, from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) .................................................................................... 76 Bonamici, Hon. Suzanne, a Representative in Congress from the State of Oregon: Report, ‘‘Program Design Issues Hampered ETA’s Ability to Ensure the H-2B Visa Program Provided Adequate Protections for U.S. Forestry Workers in Oregon,’’ dated Oct. 17, 2011, Internet address to ............................................................................................................. 52 Hudson, Hon. Richard, a Representative in Congress from the State of North Carolina, questions submitted for the record .............................. 78 Ms. Reiff, response to questions submitted for the record ............................ 79 Chairman Walberg: Letter, dated March 13, 2013, from Associated Builders and Contrac- tors, et al ................................................................................................ 54 Statement of the American Horse Council (AHC) .................................. 55 Letter, dated March 13, 2013, from the Center for Global Develop- ment ........................................................................................................ 57 Letter, dated March 14, 2013, from the Progressive Solutions LLC .... 59 Statement of the H–2B Workforce Coalition ........................................... 61 Statement of ImmigrationWorks USA ..................................................... 61 Joint statement of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) ....... 63 Report, ‘‘Migrant Spray Industry Report,’’ October 2012 ....................... 66 Statement of the American Hotel & Lodging Association ..................... 72 Letter [via email], dated March 13, 2013, from the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance (NHLA) ................................................................. 74 Statement of Keesen Landscape Management, Inc. ............................... 75 (III) EXAMINING THE ROLE OF LOWER–SKILLED GUEST WORKER PROGRAMS IN TODAY’S ECONOMY Thursday, March 14, 2013 U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Committee on Education and the Workforce Washington, DC The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:03 a.m., in room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Tim Walberg [chair- man of the subcommittee] presiding. Present: Representatives Walberg, Kline, DesJarlais, Rokita, Courtney, Andrews, Bishop, Sablan, and Bonamici. Staff present: Owen Caine, Legislative Assistant; Ed Gilroy, Di- rector of Workforce Policy; Benjamin Hoog, Legislative Assistant; Nancy Locke, Chief Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel; Donald McIntosh, Professional Staff Member; Brian Newell, Deputy Com- munications Director; Krisann Pearce, General Counsel; Nicole Sizemore, Deputy Press Secretary; Alex Sollberger, Communica- tions Director; Alissa Strawcutter, Deputy Clerk; Loren Sweatt, Senior Policy Advisor; Mary Alfred, Minority Fellow, Labor; Tylease Alli, Minority Clerk/Intern and Fellow Coordinator; John D’Elia, Minority Labor Policy Associate; Brian Levin, Minority Dep- uty Press Secretary/New Media Coordinator; Celine McNicholas, Minority Senior Labor Counsel; Richard Miller, Minority Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Megan O’Reilly, Minority General Counsel; and Michele Varnhagen, Minority Chief Policy Advisor/Labor Policy Director. Chairman WALBERG. Well, good morning. A quorum being present, the subcommittee will come to order. Other committee members will be arriving, but it is time to begin so we might as well begin. I would like to welcome our members and thank our witnesses for being here this morning. Legal immigration is a hallmark of this great country, my family included. Families and individuals from around the world have come to our shores in pursuit of freedom and opportunity. President Reagan often referred to our nation as a ‘‘shining city on a hill.’’ For those who have followed its light we have tried to provide a legal framework for entering and residing inside the United States. (1) 2 Such a framework is critical to protecting our national interests and security. However, our immigration system is no longer as strong and effective as it should be and reform is complex and con- troversial, to say the least. The Education and the Workforce Committee has long played an important role in that debate overseeing policies such as employ- ment verification and temporary guest work programs. The current debate is even more complicated due to the ongoing jobs crisis plaguing our nation: 12 million Americans are searching for work. In my home state of Michigan nearly 9 percent of the state’s working population is without a job. It is an improvement from where we were a few short years ago, but we still have a long way to go before families and small businesses fully recover from a re- cession. To help our economy move forward we must ensure, first of all, all American workers have the tools they need to compete for good- paying jobs here at home. I am pleased the House will consider this afternoon comprehensive job training reform legislation which will help workers and job-seekers access to the skills and education they need to get back to work. Additionally, we must do all that is reasonably possible to ensure employers are searching far and wide for American