H-2C Bill After Recess Pt 2
I'm Bob Larson. Waiting until after the August recess was not what sponsors of the Ag and Legal Workforce Act were hoping for, but not getting a vote on HR-6417 before the break is not a deal-breaker.Co-sponsor, U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse says there are a lot of us who are disappointed, but it was necessary ...
NEWHOUSE ... "It's been a long time since Congress has been able to pass any kind of immigration reform, let alone reform to our Ag Labor Laws and so this will be a big step, a significant step, but like I said I'm determined that we get it done and we get it done successfully. And, if it takes a little more time to educate more members about it, that's what we have to do."
Given the new plan of attack, I asked Newhouse if Republicans were optimistic about it getting done ...
NEWHOUSE ... "I think so, and by the way, this is a bipartisan effort. We had several Democrats as cosponsors on the bill and I think there will be more of them that support it when and if we get it to the floor."
Newhouse says a lot of people are working very hard to get this done and this is too important for agriculture to give up the fight ...
NEWHOUSE ... "Like I said, we did a lot of work calling people over the last week and I think that we are real close to having the necessary number of votes, but not quite there yet and so we've got a little more work to do."
Newhouse says the timeline may have changed, but the goal has not.