The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, adopted by voice vote a bipartisan en bloc amendment offered by Dr. Harris (R-MD) to the FY 26 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill that that would do the following:
- Create a certified seasonal employer H-2B cap exemption;
- Clarify the definition of temporary and seasonality of H-2A workers;
- Prohibit DHS from implementing the Modernizing H-2 Program Requirements, Oversight, and Worker Protections Rule; and
- Allow mobile carnivals and circuses to use the P-visa program.
During the debate, the following members spoke in support of the amendment: Subcommittee Chair Amodei (R-NV), Subcommittee Ranking Member Underwood (D-IL), Reps. Harris, Edwards (R-NC), Bishop (D-GA), Cuellar (D-TX), Newhouse (R-WA), Pingree (D-ME) and Escobar (D-TX).
Under the amendment, Certified Seasonal Employers are defined as any seasonal employer that received an H-2B labor certification from the Department of Labor in fiscal years 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021. The cap exemption would apply to the highest annual number of H-2B workers that employer was certified to hire during that last five fiscal years. If the employer wants to request additional workers on top of this number in any subsequent year, those requests will count against the cap.
While the amendment passed by voice vote, the debate over the DHS Appropriations bill is expected to go on for quite a while. The bill is expected to pass along a party line vote with all or most Democrats voting against the overall funding bill. Following the passage of the amendment, Chairman Amodei encouraged members to weigh in with the Judiciary and Rules Committees in support of this amendment. As you may recall, last year the House Rules Committee removed H-2B cap relief language before the bill moved to the House floor for debate.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to weigh in with their elected officials in support of this amendment. We will all need to continue to advocate for the language as this bill moves to the House floor. We will keep you updated on when a floor vote is scheduled.
Sincerely,
Arnulfo Hinojosa, COO, Federation of Employers and Workers of America (FEWA) and Vice Chair of the H-2B Workforce Coalition