Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S. 2792

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Ms. COLLINS:

S. 2792. A bill to permit athletes to receive nonimmigrant status under certain conditions, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to address the inability of promising, talented young athletes from other countries to play for sports teams in the United States, such as the MAINEiacs, a junior league hockey team in Lewiston, ME. This year's shortage of H-2B nonimmigrant visas for temporary or seasonal nonagricultural foreign workers is a matter of great concern to me and to many in my home State of Maine. In early March, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 H-2B visas would soon be met. It immediately stopped accepting applications for these visas. This meant that thousands of employers in Maine and across the United States who rely on the H-2B program have been in a very difficult position this summer.

For example, Maine's tourism and hospitality industry, as well as its forest products industry, have been particularly hard-pressed to find enough American workers to keep their businesses running at normal levels during what is their busiest time of year. What many people do not know, however, is that the H-2B visa shortage has also meant that hundreds of promising athletes have been unable to come to the United States to play for minor league and amateur sports teams across the Nation.

Those affected by the H-2B problem are not confined to just one industry or one State. That is why I cosponsored two pieces of legislation that would immediately address this problem: S. 2252, the Save the Summer Act, introduced by Senator KENNEDY, and S. 2258, the Summer Operations and Services (SOS) Relief and Reform Act, introduced by Senators HATCH and CHAMBLISS. The former would increase the H-2B visa cap by 40,000 this fiscal year, while the latter would exclude from the cap returning foreign workers who were counted against the cap within the past 2 years. It has become clear, however, that until this legislation comes before the full Senate for a vote, we must continue to actively seek alternative solutions to this problem.

One issue we must address is the problem facing the many minor league professional teams, as well as junior league hockey teams, that rely on H-2B visas. Without these visas, sports teams in Maine and across the Nation have been unable to bring some of their most talented prospects to the United States. Major League sports have also lost a traditional source of talent for their teams.

In my home State of Maine, for example, the Lewiston MAINEiacs, a Canadian junior hockey league team, has been unable to obtain the H-2b visas necessary for the majority of its players to remain in the United States to play in the team's first home games this September. Although these players range in age from 16 to 20, the majority of them are between 16 and 18 years old and are required during the hockey season to balance the demands of athletics and academics. These scholar-athletes are among Canada's most talented junior players, but due to the shortage of H-2B visas, they are in danger of missing out on a tremendous opportunity to improve their skills and, possibly, graduate to a career in professional hockey. In addition, for each home game that the team must cancel or reschedule, the economic impact on the city of Lewiston, and nearby Auburn, in terms of lost hotel and restaurant revenue will be considerable.

The Portland Sea Dogs, a Double-A level baseball team affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, also relies on H-2B visas to bring several of its most skilled players to the United States. Thousands of fans come out each year to see this team, and others like it across the country, play what is arguably one of America's favorite sports. This year, however, approximately 300 talented young, foreign baseball players have been prevented from coming to the U.S. to play for minor league teams, a proving ground for athletes hoping to make it to the Major Leagues.

The P-1 nonimmigrant visa is used by athletes who are deemed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as performing at an "internationally recognized level of performance." Unfortunately, USCIS has interpreted this visa category to exclude these talented minor and amateur league athletes. This visa is typically reserved for only those athletes who have already been promoted to Major League sports. However, none of these promising athletes is likely to earn a Major League contract if the players are not first permitted to hone their skills, and to prove themselves, in the minor leagues. This problem can easily be solved by expanding the P-1 visa category to include minor league athletes, as well as those amateur-level athletes, like the Lewiston MAINEiacs, who have demonstrated a significant likelihood of graduating to the major leagues.

I have received a letter from officials from Major League Baseball, which strongly supports the expansion of the P-1 visa category to include professional minor league baseball players. I ask unanimous consent to print this letter in the RECORD. As the League points out, 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 argues, is appropriate for minor league players because these are the players that the 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 nationality. I ask that we act quickly to amend the law to make this possible.

There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL,
OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER,

July 22, 2004.

Re Legislation for Nonimmigrant Alien Status for Certain Athletes.

Hon. SUSAN M. COLLINS,
U.S. Senator from Maine, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.

DEAR SENATOR COLLINS: I write to express Major League Baseball's support for your efforts on behalf of Minor League professional baseball players. We understand that you are considering sponsoring legislation that will enable Minor League players to obtain P-1 work visas to perform in the United States.

Currently, foreign players under Minor League contracts are required to obtain H-2B (temporary worker) work visas to perform in the United States. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped accepting H-2B visa applications in March this year, citing the nationwide cap in the number of such visas that can be issued. That action has prevented approximately 300 young baseball players from performing in the Minor Leagues in the United States this season and developing their skills in the hopes of becoming Major League players.

Minor League experience is crucial in developing the best possible Major League players. Unlike other professional athletes, baseball players almost invariably cannot go directly from high school or college to the Major Leagues. Almost all need substantial experience in the Minor Leagues to develop their talents and skills to Major League quality. To get that necessary experience, young players are signed by Major League Clubs and assigned to play for Minor League affiliates throughout the United States, such as the Eastern League's Portland Sea Dogs in your state.

The Major League Clubs are currently able to use only 81% of the H-2B visas the Department of Labor allowed them for this season, because current laws prevented them from making decisions in the late spring and throughout the summer to promote foreign prospects to United States affiliates. Major League Clubs sign players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and assign them at first to affiliates in those countries, then seek to promote them to affiliates in the United States as players' skills progress. Typically, a Club would seek to promote 3-5 players per season to Minor League affiliates in the United States, but the visa restrictions this year have made those promotions impossible. We have learned that at least several Clubs shied away from drafting foreign (mostly Canadian) players whom they otherwise might have selected in the annual First-Year Player Draft in June, because those Clubs knew there would be no opportunity for those players to begin their professional careers in the United States this season. For the Canadian players who were drafted this past June, signings have declined 80% from 2003. These results of the current visa laws have deprived Minor League fans across America from seeing the best young players possible perform for affiliates of the Major League Baseball Clubs and have affected the quality and attractiveness of those affiliates.

Under your leadership, congressional legislation could, by sensibly making available P-1 visas to professional Minor League athletes, ensure that the best baseball prospects from around the world will get the opportunity to develop here in the United States, without the constraint that the H-2B visa cap imposes. The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, Inc., also known as Minor League Baseball, shares our support of your legislation. The Major League Baseball Players Association also supports allowing the best young players to develop here in the United States.

Major League Baseball hopes that your Senate colleagues will follow your leadership and pursue a legislative remedy to a problem that is threatening to weaken Baseball's Minor League system.

Sincerely

RICHARD L. ALDERSON,
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,
Baseball Operations.