Ted Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Sure. Yes.

Mr. KENNEDY. I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from California.

Mr. KENNEDY. I ask for the yeas and nays on the Inhofe amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY. Can I get 30 seconds at the very end?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield the remaining time to the Senator from Idaho.

Mr. KENNEDY. We are prepared to yield back our time if the other side wants to yield back.

Mr. KENNEDY. How much time remains?

Mr. KENNEDY. We have 11 minutes?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we look forward to this. What was, then, the time allocation requested? Is it 25, 10, 10, 5? Is that what the Senator suggested?

Mr. KENNEDY. So that is 25.

Mr. KENNEDY. Then I think we would get 15.

Mr. KENNEDY. Have we added all that up?

Mr. KENNEDY. Can I ask unanimous consent we defer the vote at 10 clock until 10:05?

Mr. KENNEDY. Fine.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we send an amendment to the desk on behalf of myself, Senator McCain, and Senator Graham.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. KENNEDY. I yield myself 4 minutes. Mr. President, as we all know, yesterday the Senate voted to eliminate the H-2C immigrant's ability to self-petition for green cards after 4 years. I believe that vote was a mistake because it will have a devastating effect not just for temporary workers but for all workers and, basically, for all Americans. The amendment we offer today would correct the mistake and take the good language from the Cornyn amendment to improve the underlying bill. This amendment will require that the Labor Department certify that no U.S. worker will be displaced by H-2C workers when they adjust to permanent status, as the Cornyn amendment requires. This amendment also restores the ability of H-2C workers to obtain a green card without being dependent on the generosity of the employers. The self-petition feature of our temporary worker program is innovative and essential to workers' rights. All Americans lose if it is eliminated from the bill. The reason temporary worker programs failed in the past, going back to the time of the Bracero Program, is because they did not protect workers' rights. For this new program to work without harming U.S. workers, H-2C workers must have the full set of rights. That is why our bill includes extensive labor protections for temporary workers. Effectively, then, at the time after the 4 years, the individual will be able to make the petition for the green card, and they will also have to have a certification by the Department of Labor that there is no American able and willing to perform that job. There will have to be that kind of a finding. The self-petition gives that worker some rights and respect as an employee instead of being subject to the dangers we have seen in the past of exploitation by an employer that knows that worker can never get a chance to have a petition and can never get on the path for a green card without the employer giving the thumbs-up signal. When that power relationship between the employer and the employee exists, we have seen exploitation in terms of wages, working conditions, and other unfortunate problems with regard to women. This seems to be a solid compromise. It takes the framework of the Cornyn amendment, but it will also ensure that these petitioners are going to have to demonstrate there is that gap in terms of the labor market that they are able to fill and that there is not someone out there in the American labor market prepared to take that job. It seems to me to be a very important principle, a very concrete proposal, one I hope we can have accepted this morning. I withhold the remainder of my time.

Mr. KENNEDY. How much time remains?

Mr. KENNEDY. I will take 3 minutes for the membership, if they have a chance to review the amendment. On page 1, second paragraph: The Secretary of Labor determines and certifies that there are not sufficient United States workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to fill the position in which the alien is, or will be employed. . . . So the Secretary of Labor has to make the certification that they will not be replacing an American worker. Then, how are they going to be able to give the assurance they have had the 4 years that are included in the first paragraph, that ``the alien has maintained such nonimmigrant status in the United States for a cumulative period of not less than 4 years of employment''? These are listed and include: records maintained by Social Security, records maintained by the employer, employment work verification, records maintained by the Internal Revenue Service, records maintained by other government agencies. What we are saying, in the four different categories, those categories are government-held records or the employer-held records, not the employee-held records. I don't know how it could be much clearer exactly what this amendment does. It is very clear. It is the certification that there is no American that is able, willing, and qualified. And to be able to prove it, there are government-held records or employer-held records, not the petitioner's records, not his stubs, but government-held records. We have tried to craft this in a way which is going to be fair. We are not interested in people trying to ``jimmy'' the system. We have had too much of that in the past. I get back to the final theme. This legislation tries to learn from past experience. In 1986, we had amnesty but there was supposed to be tough employer sanctions if they hired unemployed. We had vast industries that produced fake identification cards. The system never functioned. It never worked. What we have tried to do is avoid that. We have a tamper-proof card. We will have vigorous employment. But, also, to learn the lessons of the Bracero Program, we are not going to have the exploitation of these workers by their employers. That is what we do when we deny the opportunity of an employee ever to be able to make a petition. We say you have to be in there for 4 years, with solid record of employment, solid record of achievement, solid record of commitment to work. Then you can make your petition. You have to meet that requirement.

Mr. KENNEDY. What time is left?

Mr. KENNEDY. I yield that time to the Senator from Arizona.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I have tried to point out this will be a judgment decision that will be made by the Secretary of Labor as to whether there is an American fit, willing, and able. And if there is, they cannot petition. Now, the Senator says: Well, it is all then up to the employee. But the idea of the whole guest worker is the employer. Why is it good for the employer, who is going to go out and petition and say: Look, I need someone to come work for me. They advertise for 45 days. Then they find out they have someone from overseas who will do that. So the employer is the one who is petitioning there. Didn't have any problem with that. Now, when we get into the situation after 4 years, they can make the petition on this, if there is a vacancy, according to this proposal, but if there is not a green card available, they do not get it. They might have to wait a year. They might have to indicate 2 years. This is not automatic. There are only a certain number of green cards that are available under this category. They may wait 1 year. They may have to wait 2 years. So it is much more difficult. This is still weighted far against the worker than the employer. What we were always trying to do in the development of the legislation is to have balance and fairness in terms of the authority and responsibility and the legality on this. I think what we have offered addresses what I understood to be the Senator's concern; that is, that there are going to be American workers out there when this person is getting a green card. Therefore, it is going to be adverse to the American workers. We say, if there is one, they don't get it. That is decided by the Secretary of Labor. And they have to be able to prove their work history through documents and records that are either held by the Government or by the employer. It seems to me that is about as lock safe and secure as you can have in this business. I would hope we would accept this amendment. Mr. President, I think my time has expired.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, we are trying to move along. I see my colleague and friend behind me, the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, who has been here patiently waiting to address the Senate on this issue generally. That might work, as we are just trying to reaffirm the language on this Inhofe amendment.