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50 September 2016 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com STAYING CURRENT ILLUSTRATION ABOVE ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/SMARTBOY10 Appropriations: The Only "Must Pass" Legislation the full House and Senate should each pass these individual spending measures, work out the differences between the two chambers' bills in conference, and send final spending measures to the President for his signature before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1. Congress rarely meets this October 1 deadline, however, and often passes a temporary spending bill called a continuing resolution that simply extends the prior year spending for a period of time, which can vary from a few days to an entire year. For example, last year — with the October 1 deadline loom- ing and an inability to work out a budget that both houses could agree to (not to mention both parties) — Congress passed a continuing resolution that was in effect until late December. In December, Congress combined several spending bills into a single "omnibus" appropriations bill. When a massive spending bill is negotiated, Congress generally incorporates many of the provisions from the individual spending bills passed by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Through this process, NALP and our allies were able to secure the inclusion of relief that limited the ability of the Department of Labor to enforce certain provisions of its H-2B regulations. It also revived the H-2B returning worker exemption for one year. This year, we expect that Congress will pass a continuing resolution to fund the government until after the elections. Late this fall, or perhaps even early next year, Congress will likely pass a broader negotiated spending package for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year. Any policy riders included in the final spending package will likely be taken from provisions included in earlier versions of the individual House and Senate Appropriations bills. Which is why our success earlier in the year in getting language related to our key H-2B objectives was so important. When House and Senate lawmakers negotiated a final omnibus appropriations package last year, we were successful in having all of the helpful H-2B provisions included. It won't be easy, but that is our goal for this year as well. Paul Mendelsohn is VP of government relations at the National Association of Landscape Professionals. ■ BY PAUL MENDELSOHN As a result of consistent pressure by landscape professionals and other H-2B stakeholders, in June the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to extend the returning worker exemption (RWE) to the H-2B legal immigrant guest worker program for fiscal year 2017. A month earlier, we succeeded in getting the Senate Appropriations Committee to approve an extension of regulatory relief that limits the Department of Labor from enforcing the 3/4 rule and other burdensome provisions related to H-2B. Both of these advocacy achievements were driven by a groundswell of grassroots outreach exhibited by landscape professionals and other H-2B supporters. The high level of advocacy involvement was needed in order to offset the estimated 29,000 faxes supporters of NumbersUSA, the nation's largest immigration reduction organization, sent to Congress in the days leading up to the vote urging them to vote no on any measures that would bolster the H-2B program. In particular, the inclusion of the RWE in the House Appropriations 2017 Department of Homeland Security budget bill is a crucial victory, and without the favorable vote it is unlikely that Congress would act this year to extend the provision. However, we still have a long path to go to get the returning worker exemption and other regulatory relief signed into law. We are also likely to face aggressive and continued opposition on both ends of the political spectrum with NumbersUSA attacking the right, and pro-labor union groups attacking the left. As we look toward the second half of 2016, we do not expect much legislative activity until after the elections. Annual spending bills, which should be passed before the start of fiscal 2017 on October 1, and most other legislative business will wait until late November. Congress will adjourn for the Republican and Democratic conventions in mid-July and return for a few weeks after Labor Day before adjourning again for the elections. The only legislation that Congress must pass before adjourning is appropriations legislation to fund the federal government. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees usually pass their own versions of individual spending bills to fund each of the various federal government agencies and departments. In theory, NALP and our allies were able to secure the inclusion of relief that limited the ability of the Department of Labor to enforce certain provisions of its H-2B regulations. LI