Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 - Continued -

COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT OF 2006--Continued -- (Senate - May 23, 2006)

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for a provision in S. 2611 that will level the playing field for minor league sports teams that depend on getting the best athletic talent. Under current law, minor league players who have to use the H-2B visa category face severe visa shortages, while Major League players qualify automatically for plentiful P-1 visas. This unfair discrepancy in the law needs to be remedied, and my amendment, which was accepted by the Judiciary Committee and is now in the underlying bill, provides a commonsense solution.

By way of background, H-2B visas are intended for use by industries facing seasonal demands for labor, such as the hospitality and agricultural industries. What many people do not know is that, in addition to loggers, hotel and restaurant employees, and many other types of seasonal workers, the H-2B visa category is also used by many talented, highly competitive foreign athletes who are recruited by U.S. teams.

A chronic H-2B visa shortage over the last few years has posed challenges for all industries using the H-2B visa category. In both fiscal years 2004 and 2005, the 66,000 visa cap was met early in the year. While we were successful last year in crafting a temporary 2-year fix for the H-2B shortage, this fix will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. I commend my colleague from Maryland, Senator Mikulski, for offering an amendment to this bill that would extend the current exemption of returning H-2B workers until 2009.

However, solving this problem goes beyond fixing the H-2B visa cap. Minor league players simply do not belong in the same visa category as seasonal workers. There is no reason why Major League players can qualify automatically for P-1 visas, which are granted to talented athletes, artists, and entertainers, while minor league players cannot. My amendment would remedy this unfair situation.

The problem of requiring minor league athletes to use the H-2B visa category has posed a particular challenge to those of us in Maine who enjoy cheering on our sports teams. The MAINEiacs, a Canadian junior hockey league team that plays its games in Lewiston, ME, has faced tremendous difficulties obtaining the H-2B visas necessary for the majority of its players to come to the United States to play in the team's first home games.

Last year, due to uncertainty surrounding the availability of H-2B visas at the end of the fiscal year, the team had to reschedule its season home opener and cancel several early season games. This forced the team to schedule make-up games for those normally played in September. The problems created by the visa situation creates an unnecessary hardship for this team, in addition to threatening the revenue the team generates for the city of Lewiston and businesses in the surrounding area.

The Portland Sea Dogs, a Double-A baseball team affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, is another of the many teams that relies on H-2B visas to bring some of its most skilled players to the United States. Thousands of fans come each year to see this team, and others like it across the country, play one of America's favorite sports. Due to the shortage of H-2B visas, however, Major League Baseball reports that, in 2004 and early 2005, more than 350 talented young, foreign baseball players were prevented from coming to the U.S. to play for minor league teams. These teams have been a traditional proving ground for athletes hoping to make it to the major leagues and players often move from these teams to major league rosters.

The inclusion of these highly skilled athletes in the H-2B visa category seems particularly unusual when you consider that major league athletes are permitted to use an entirely different non-immigrant visa category--the P-1 visa. This visa is available to athletes who are deemed by the Citizenship and Immigration Services to perform at an ``internationally recognized level of performance.'' Arguably, any foreign athlete whose achievements have earned him a contract with an American team would meet this definition.

CIS, however, has interpreted this category to exclude minor and amateur league athletes. Instead, the P-1 visa is typically reserved for only those athletes who have already been promoted to major league sports. Unfortunately, this creates something of a catch-22 for minor league athletes--if an H-2B visa shortage means that promising athletes are unable to hone their skills, and to prove themselves, in the minor leagues, they are far less likely to ever earn the major league contract currently required to obtain a P-1 visa.

A simple, commonsense solution would be to expand the P-1 visa category to include minor league and certain amateur-level athletes who have demonstrated a significant likelihood of graduating to the major leagues. Major League Baseball strongly supports the expansion of the P-1 visa category to include professional minor league baseball players. In correspondence to me, the league has pointed out that, by making P-1 visas available to this group of athletes, teams would be able to make player development decisions based on the talent of its players, without being constrained by visa quotas. The P-1 category, the league believes, is appropriate for minor league players because these are the players that Major League clubs have selected as some of the best baseball prospects in the world.

There is no question that Americans are passionate about sports. We have high expectations for our teams, and demand only the best from our athletes. By expanding the P-1 visa category, we will make it possible for athletes to be selected based on talent and skill, rather than visa availability. In addition, we would reduce some pressure on the H-2B visa category making more of those visas available to the industries that need them.

I am pleased that this important provision is included in S. 2611, and I thank the Judiciary Committee for their willingness to incorporate it into the underlying bill.

I ask unanimous consent that letters endorsing my amendment from the Lewiston MAINEiacs Hockey Club and Major League Baseball be printed in the Record.

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