Last week, the Senate Finance Committee's version of the economic stimulus package, which included extended unemployment benefits, tax credits for renewable energy, and LIHEAP was defeated in the Senate by one vote.
Ultimately, a package that added rebate checks for low-income seniors and disabled veterans, as well as a provision offered by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) to ensure illegal immigrants don't receive rebate checks, was approved by a 91-6 vote.
The House accepted the newly amended economic stimulus package with a 380-34 vote. President Bush is expected to sign it into law.
SUMMARY OF PRESIDENT'S FY09 BUDGET
The President unveiled his proposed federal budget for federal Fiscal Year 2009 on Monday, February 4. Generally, the $3.1 trillion budget calls for a permanent extension of the President's tax cuts, reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, and provides adequate funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Various Congressional authorizing and appropriations committees have already been holding hearings on the budget by department and program. The House Budget Committee's analysis of the budget can be found at http://budget.house.gov.
Details about the proposed FY 09 budget can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/.
NEW FARM BILL DISCUSSED
The Bush Administration is reportedly negotiating with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) on a new version of the farm bill. Chairman Peterson is proposing stricter limits on payments to farmers by eliminating a $5 billion aid program and cutting subsidies. This proposal is intended to appease concerns by the White House that the farm bill would be too expensive.
The major challenge to finishing the farm bill is in forming a package of tax offsets that would pay for additional spending that does not fit under the $286 billion baseline. Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) believes a new revenue proposal will be ready for the White House in the next few days.
H2-A VISAS, BORDER SECURITY SUBJECT OF IMMIGRATION DEBATES
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the FY 2009 budget for land border enforcement on February 14 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law will hold a hearing on immigration and customs interrogation, detention and removal procedures of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement section of DHS on February 13 at 1:00 p.m.
Simultaneously, the Bush Administration is proposing new rules for the H-2A farm worker visas. The proposals would make visas more accessible to employers but requires them to seek U.S. employees for a longer time period before seeking out foreign workers.
The H-2A Farm Worker program was put in place by the USDA as a way for farmers to hire legal workers. The estimates are that the need for agricultural work force is about 1.2 million workers at the season's peak, and that as many as 800,000 of these workers are illegal.
There are several problems with the program as it was implemented, most centering around the length of time it takes to clear an employee to work. Farmers could not rely on the program to clear workers in time to pick produce that could rot. Last year, only 75,000 workers were hired through the H-2A program; in order to increase these numbers, the USDA is proposing several revisions to the program that will streamline and simplify it.
The USDA is hoping to get the revisions approved as soon as possible so that farmers get in the habit of using the program on a regular basis when hiring workers. However, the proposal has drawn criticism from both parties in Congress.
