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SB5 Making Parole Board Votes Public heads to Gov. Youngkin

Virginia House Passes Suetterlein's Parole Transparency Bill

SB5 Making Parole Board Votes Public heads to Gov. Youngkin

  RICHMOND - Senator David Suetterlein's Senate Bill 5 to make Parole Board votes public cleared its final legislative hurdle and is on its way to Governor Glenn Youngkin's desk. The House of Delegates voted 96-3 to make the powerful Parole Board's votes public. 

"Virginians should know who is making these critical public safety and individual liberty decisions on the Parole Board," said Suetterlein.

The Parole Board's lack of transparency came to public realization in 2020 following a series of highly controversial acts by the Parole Board then controlled Governor Ralph Northam's appointees. 

An email later made public showed a Parole Board employee telling Chair Adrianne Bennett that she felt "drunk with power" to which Chair Bennett replied, "Wave that wand of power, and let's cut them loose. There needs to be a silver lining to all this! Give me more!!!"

In keeping with his much repeated campaign pledge, Governor Youngkin fired all of Northam's Parole Board appointees and appointed their replacements on his first day in office. Now Suetterlein's SB5 making the votes of the current and all future Parole Boards public heads to Governor Youngkin.

Senate General Laws Chair George Barker and a majority of Senate Democrats have strongly supported Suetterlein's identical sunshine legislation the last three years, but the House Democratic leadership refused to allow consideration of the 2020 and 2021 bills. 

"For three years there has been strong bipartisan agreement in the Virginia Senate, but the last two years the House Democratic leadership refused to even allow consideration. Speaker Todd Gilbert and General Laws Chair Jay Leftwich immediately allowed consideration and we then saw amazing bipartisan support in the House too," said Suetterlein.

Following its 96-3 vote in the House of Delegates, Senate Bill 5 will soon be formally communicated to Governor Youngkin.

"When someone is arrested for violating Virginia law, everyone can look up those that enacted that law as well as the names of the arresting officer, the prosecutor, the judge, and the appellate judges. Only when it gets to the Parole Board does anonymous action replace transparency. When SB5 is signed into law, we can bring the disinfecting benefits of sunshine to the Parole Board," said Suetterlein. 

Virginia Senator David Suetterlein was elected in November 2019 to a second term representing parts of the Roanoke Valley, New River Valley, and Southwest Virginia in the Virginia Senate. He lives in Roanoke County with his wife where their children attend public schools. He is a Realtor with the Roanoke Valley owned and operated MKB, REALTORS.

Delegate Phillip Scott: Weekly Newsletter

Edition XXXVI

Friends, as session inches along, I continue to fight to deliver on the issues that I campaigned on. Regrettably however, Democrats in the House and Senate are putting up massive resistance to even the most reasonable bills.

 

The Democrats in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee killed HB 39, which would have limited absentee voting to fourteen days. The Democrats voted this bill down despite election officials and registrars from around the commonwealth, including northern Virginia, testifying in favor of it. The burden of staffing these early voting sites while virtually no one uses them is immense, but the Senate Democrats don't care.

This week, Democrats in Richmond also killed my minimum wage exemption bill, HB 1040. They did this while manipulating the facts surrounding this bill and its implications. They claimed that this bill could potentially impact 80% of Virginia workers. This is flat out false. 

 

I campaigned on implementing innovative policy to help our small businesses, the backbone of our local economy. I am fighting for that cause against staunch opposition from the left.

 

However, we have had some successes implementing positive new policies. HB 40 has become law. This new law authorizes a disabled veteran special license plate issued to a disabled veteran to be transferred, upon his death, to his surviving spouse.

 

My bill that would allow localities to lower the tax rates that you pay for your vehicles, HB 1239, still has a chance to become law. This is so important to get passed right now because of the rampant inflation we are experiencing that is hitting used vehicle prices particularly hard. This bill was referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee where its fate will be determined.

Sen. Bryce Reeves: Session Update!

This Week in Session 

 

Both the House and Senate unveiled their versions of the biennial budget (ranging from 2022-2024) this week, beginning the long but necessary process of having a balanced budget for our Commonwealth which is required by our Constitution. The process started back in December; a draft is given to the General Assembly following a joint meeting between the Governor and the House & Senate Finance Committees, after which all legislators are able to submit amendments. Throughout the first half of session, both the House and Senate Finance Committees vet the proposed amendments, and come up with a finalized budget proposal. Negotiations begin after the House and Senate pass their respective proposals, and differences between the two budgets must be reconciled before the end of session on March 12. This lengthy process still has a few more steps, though: Governor Youngkin then gets a chance to review the finalized budget and recommend his own amendments, after which the General Assembly will reconvene on April 27th to debate and vote on the Governor's amendments; then we will finally have our budget. Having a balanced budget is not easy work, but is a necessary step to ensure the economic prosperity of individuals and businesses alike in our Commonwealth!

 

Although it may not seem like it, the budget has the capability to change more than just our Commonwealth's spending. While reading the budget, I caught something that the Democrats attempted to slip in which would have been devastating to our First Amendment rights. A budget amendment that was proposed would have changed the definition of a 'group' to include individuals, and would have required, for example, people looking to simply hold a sign near the Capitol as legislators walk to session to need a permit in order to do so. This is blatantly unacceptable and was a clear violation of our First Amendment rights. It is hard to believe that the vote on this particular amendment came down to a 20 to 20 tie which had to be broken.

Since crossover last week, House committees have been considering bills that passed the Senate and visa-versa. I had 12 bills make it through the crossover process, and have had some major wins so far. SB 528, which would drastically reduce taxes on military retiree pay, had its second reading this Friday on the House floor! It passed unanimously through the Senate, and worked its way through the House Finance Committee without any roadblocks. Another bill of mine, SB 530, which cracks down on illegal gambling in our commonwealth, was reported out of both the House Committee on General Laws and the House Committee on Appropriations with little opposition, and now awaits its time on the House floor.

This week was an exciting one, I must say. Presidents Day brought many visitors to Richmond as folks enjoyed their day off. We do not take holidays in the General Assembly, I'm there every day fighting for you. On Thursday several Commissioners of the Revenue stopped by to present me with the Legislator of the Year award from the Commissioners of the Revenue association. One of the Commissioners who stopped by was Scott Mayausky, from Stafford County. As the owner of two businesses in Stafford, I've had to work with him a lot. Commissioner of the Revenue Lois Jacobs, of Fredericksburg, and Terry Yowell, of Culpeper, also joined us and Terry Yowell presented me with the award. I'm proud to work with all our elected officials to get things done for our community.

With only two weeks left until session adjourns, things are picking up to a blistering pace here in the Virginia Senate. I will continue to do my duty looking out for the best interests of my constituents as well as all citizens of our Commonwealth. As per usual, I will be back next week with more news from Richmond!

Sen. Amanda Chase: Here's What Happened this Week in Richmond

SESSION 2022

WEEK 7



WEEKLY FRIDAY UPDATE

from

Senator Amanda Chase

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Wanted to give you a quick update from the week. In the Senate we are now reviewing House bills. Unfortunately, very few of the House bills are making it out of the Democrat controlled Senate committees. One bill that did make it out of the Senate today was a risk limiting audit bill. While this is better than nothing, "We the People" want a FULL forensic audit.

Let me give you an example. When a risk limiting audit was done after the 2020 Presidential Election, in Amelia County, only 1 vote of about 14,000 was reviewed. Friends, that is no audit. A full forensic audit would examine all 14,000 ballots, the poll books and all of the equipment associated with the election. So don't be fooled when some say we passed a bill calling for an election audit.

We also passed out of the Senate the budget bill, which I could not support. Neither could most of my Republican colleagues. The Republican controlled House passed a separate budget bill, which should be more conservative and I hope to support. Currently, the budget bills are billions in dollars apart. Today, the budget conferees were chosen and they will work out the differences.

Thank you again for your love and support. Hope you enjoy some of the pictures and videos from this week in Richmond during session.

WE ARE NOW IN CROSS OVER WHICH STARTED TUESDAY THE 15th. All House bills now come to the Senate, and all Senate bills go to the House.

Here are the Senate bills of which I am a Chief Co-Patron and Co-Patron that have thankfully survived the Democrat controlled Senate. These bills will come before the House beginning next week.

UPDATE: On SB39 02/21/22 House: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

Co-Patron

SB39 Elections; form of ballot; party identification of candidates on ballots; constitutional officers. Extends to elections for constitutional officers the requirement that ballots identify the nominating political party for party candidates and identify independent candidates as such. Currently, this requirement applies only to federal, statewide, and General Assembly elections.

UPDATE: On SB80 02/21/22 House: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

Co-Patron

SB80 State and local elections officials; acceptance of certain gifts and funding prohibited. Prohibits state and local elections officials from soliciting, accepting, using, or disposing of any moneys, grants, property, or services given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity for the purpose of funding voter education and outreach programs, voter registration programs, or any other expense incurred in the conduct of elections. The bill specifically provides that the operation of a polling place or voter satellite office in a facility furnished by a private individual or nongovernmental entity is not a violation of this prohibition.

UPDATE: On SB159 0/21/22 House: Referred to Committee on Education

Co-Patron

SB159 Public institutions of higher education; debt collection; transcripts and diplomas. Prohibits public institutions of higher education from (i) refusing to provide a transcript or diploma for a current or former student on the grounds that the student owes a debt; (ii) conditioning the provision of a transcript or diploma for a current or former student on the payment of a debt, other than a fee charged to provide the transcript or diploma; (iii) charging a higher fee to a current or former student for obtaining a transcript or diploma, or providing less favorable treatment of a transcript or diploma request because a current or former student owes a debt; or (iv) using transcript or diploma issuance as a tool for debt collection. The bill states that any violation of these provisions constitutes a prohibited practice and is subject to any and all of the enforcement provisions of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act

UPDATE: On SB198 02/22/22 House: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

Co-Patron

SB198Disposition when defendant found incompetent; involuntary admission of the defendant. Provides that when a defendant is found incompetent, the court may, after a pre-admission screening report has been completed and the court has made a finding by clear and convincing evidence that a crime has occurred, without objection by counsel for the defendant as to the defendant's competency to stand trial and upon motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth or its own motion, permit the community services board or behavioral health authority to petition for involuntary admission of the defendant and enter an order of nolle prosequi or dismissal for the criminal charge. Under current law, the court is required to order that the defendant receive treatment to restore his competency. The bill also clarifies the process following the completion of the competency evaluation of a defendant.

UPDATE: On SB528 02/23/22 House: Reported from Finance with substitute (21-Y 0-N)

B528 Income tax; military benefits subtraction; emergency. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of military benefits in taxable year 2021, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2022, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2023 and each year thereafter. The bill defines military benefits to include military retirement income and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran. The bill contains an emergency clause.

UPDATE: On SB656 02/23/22 House: Reported from Education (12-Y 10-N)

Co-Patron

SB656 Board of Education; policy on sexually explicit instructional material. Requires the Board of Education to establish, and each local school board to comply with, a policy to require each public elementary or secondary school to (i) notify the parent of any student whose teacher reasonably expects to provide instructional material that includes sexually explicit content, (ii) permit the parent of any student to review instructional material that includes sexually explicit content upon request, and (iii) provide, as an alternative to instructional material and related academic activities that include sexually explicit content, nonexplicit instructional material and related academic activities to any student whose parent so requests.

UPDATE: On SB739 Passed the house and waiting to be signed by Governor 02/16/22 Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text

Co-Patron

SB739 Public elementary and secondary schools and public school-based early childhood care and education programs; student instruction; masks. Requires, except in the case of the 10 unscheduled remote learning days otherwise permitted by law or in certain cases of student discipline, each school board to offer in-person instruction, as defined in the bill, to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary or secondary school for at least the minimum number of required annual instructional hours and to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public school-based early childhood care and education program for the entirety of the instructional time provided pursuant to such program. The bill permits, notwithstanding any other provision of law or any regulation, rule, or policy implemented by a school board, school division, school official, or other state or local authority, the parent of any child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school, or in any school-based early childhood care and education program, to elect for such child to not wear a mask while on school property. The bill provides that no parent making such an election shall be required to provide a reason or any certification of the child's health or education status and no student shall suffer any adverse disciplinary or academic consequences as a result of this parental election.

UPDATE: On HB55 Passed the house and waiting to be signed by Governor 02/23/22 Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text

SB55 Voter registration; list maintenance; lists of decedents transmitted by State Registrar of Vital Records. Requires the State Registrar of Vital Records to transmit to the Department of Elections a weekly list of decedents from the previous week. Currently, this list is transmitted monthly. The bill requires the general registrars to use this information to conduct list maintenance and to promptly cancel the registration of a person on the list. Votes 39 to 1

UPDATE: On SB4 02/21/22 House: Referred to Committee on Rules

Co-Patron

SB 4 Emergency Services and Disaster Law; limitation on duration of executive orders. Emergency Services and Disaster Law; limitation on duration of executive orders. Limits the duration of any executive order issued by the Governor pursuant to his powers under the Emergency Services and Disaster Law to no more than 45 days from the date of issuance. The bill provides that if the General Assembly does not take any action on the rule, regulation, or order within the 45 days during which the rule, regulation, or order is effective, the Governor shall thereafter be prohibited from issuing the same or a similar rule, regulation, or order relating to the same emergency. Under current law, once issued, such executive orders are effective until June 30 following the next regular session of the General Assembly.

UPDATE: On SB5 02/22/22 House: Reported from General Laws (21-Y 1-N)

Co-Patron

SB 5 Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Virginia Parole Board member votes. Provides that individual votes of the members of the Virginia Parole Board are public records and subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Freedom Isn't Free

Friday, February 25, 2022

By Gary Bauer

From the end of World War II until very recently, freedom has been expanding around the world. But no longer. The 40 million people of Ukraine were free last week. But within days, they will likely be swallowed by the Russian army. Pray for a miracle in Ukraine. 

For decades the 7 million people of Hong Kong, once part of the United Kingdom, built an economic powerhouse that astonished everyone with its success. Its people enjoyed tremendous freedom until the Chinese communist army marched in and crushed that freedom in 2020. 

The 23 million free people of Taiwan have built their own economic miracle with cutting edge technology that is in virtually everything we use. The communist Chinese declared yesterday that Taiwan belongs to them, and they will take it whenever they choose.

Free people are not only under siege from foreign enemies. 

Venezuela was once the wealthiest nation in Latin America. They didn't fall to foreign troops. Instead, the people of Venezuela fell for socialism and authoritarianism. 

Our friends in Canada are in shock as their socialist prime minister declared a state of emergency to crush peaceful dissent against his government. He is seizing the bank accounts and private property of non-violent protesters.

There's little chance a foreign enemy will occupy our country. But our freedom is in grave danger from elements of our own government, globalist corporations, Big Tech censors and the increasingly intolerant left.

Using COVID as an excuse, our first freedoms – the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly – have been severely restricted. We were told that it was an emergency. But if we can lose our freedom in an emergency, Big Government will always find a new emergency.

Ronald Reagan warned that freedom was never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for and protected. He also warned that man is only free as long as government is limited. 

As the people of Ukraine fight for their freedom in the streets today, we must do everything we can to protect our freedom here in the United States.

Senator Obenshain Statement on Passage of Elder Abuse Prevention Bill

RICHMOND - Today, Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) released the following statement following the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 124.

"I'm happy to report that my SB 124 passed the House of Delegates unanimously yesterday afternoon and is headed to Governor Youngkin's desk for his signature. It's a travesty that financial abuse of our elderly is more and more prevalent every year. Protecting this vulnerable population has long been a priority of mine and this bill is one more step in holding bad actors accountable for financially exploiting an incapacitated adult."

SB 124 creates a new criminal offense for people who misuse a power of attorney to exploit the person who they were supposed to be helping and protecting.  When someone gives a power of attorney to another, he or she is entrusting that person with a position of trust and great responsibility. The opportunity for abuse is significant and when that happens, there should be an additional charge for the breach of trust, above and beyond that which applies to simple theft.

The federal government estimates that the costs of financial fraud against seniors exceed $2 billion annually. According to a recent elder needs survey, nearly one in five Americans aged 65 and older have been victims of elder financial abuse. The survey claims that over $36 billion is lost each year to financial exploitation, criminal fraud and caregiver abuse. 90 percent of perpetrators of fraud are known to their victims.

The closer the tie between perpetrator and victim, the greater the damage. A detailed study of elder financial abuse in Utah found that the amount stolen by people who knew their victim averaged $116,000 — nearly triple the haul taken by strangers. Criminals within the family got even more: $148,000. And the thieves who stole the most money — $262,000, on average — were the victims' children.

Obenshain concluded, "Facts matter and the reality is that this combination of vulnerability and financial means puts elders in enhanced danger of exploitation. I'm grateful to my colleagues in the House of Delegates and the Senate for their support of this bill. I look forward to this becoming Virginia law so that we can continue to tamp down on elder abuse in our society."

Senator Obenshain represents the twenty-sixth district in the Virginia Senate.  The district includes the city of Harrisonburg and the counties of Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rappahannock and Rockingham (part).  He serves on the Senate Judiciary; Commerce & Labor; Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; and Transportation Committees.

Facebook Pics of the Day

Congressman Good: Past Time to End COVID Mandates

Democrats continue to peddle the fear of "COVID forever" for political purposes. Fortunately, the American people are calling for an end to these unjustified COVID restrictions by their government.  

• On Wednesday Governor Youngkin signed Virginia Senate Bill 739 which requires schools to allow a parental opt-out for all school mask mandates. I am thankful to Governor Youngkin, and the General Assembly for respecting parents and putting Virginia children first.
• This week, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and seven other U.S. Senators wrote a letter urging their colleagues to stop funding all vaccine mandates in the most recent federal spending bill. Republicans in the Senate had the power to stop it, but unfortunately, they failed to exercise that power. We need more leaders in Congress who will stand up for the American people and against unconstitutional freedom-crushing mandates. No Republican should support any funding that doesn't end this egregious violation of personal liberty.
• I was able to speak with Vince Coglianese on WMAL DC radio on Thursday to talk about what was happening in the Senate and what it could have meant for vaccine mandates across the country. You can listen to the full interview here.
• While crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe ban donors from contributing to the trucker convoys in Canada and the Canadian government is freezing bank accounts, truckers in the United States are headed for Washington D.C. to make their voices heard. I support efforts like these to speak out against freedom-stealing mandates.

Senator Bryce Reeves: Session Update!

This past week officially marked the halfway point for the 2022 Legislative Session, having passed day 30 of our 60 day Session.  The Senate is now reviewing House bills and visa-versa.  I am very happy to report that my office got 12 bills through to the House, as we anticipated last week.  Because of the difference in bill limitations and the amount of members between the House and Senate, we are going to start seeing longer sessions and committee meetings as we vote on legislation passed through the House of Delegates.  

 

One bill, that I co-patroned, has already passed through both the House and Senate, SB 739. I joined Governor Youngkin as he signed it into law on Wednesday.  This new law requires schools to provide in-person education for all students as well as making it clear that parents, and only parents, get to decide what is best for their children when it comes to whether or not to wear a mask. I will always stand up for the rights of parents. That's why as far back as 2013 I got SB908 passed into law - codifying "that parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children."

A multitude of my bills, as I mentioned earlier, made their way through to the House of Delegates including SB 768, which makes it easier for military families who have lost their loved one in the armed forces to have access to higher education.  Multiple of my charitable gaming bills, which will help to clean up corruption in our Commonwealth's charitable gaming system and bring our focus back to the charities themselves rather than the profits of large corporations, are awaiting House Committee assignments.  SB 765, another bill I introduced that passed the Senate floor unanimously, would ease the process of allowing retired law-enforcement officers to purchase their own service weapon from their department.

We had a wealth of friendly faces stop by our office this week, including a delegation from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.  Our friends in Taiwan are the 10th biggest trading partner to the USA as a whole, and have helped Virginia's economy in a multitude of ways including the creation of 4,500 jobs in our Commonwealth.  I also had a lovely time visiting with the Virginia Federation of Republican Women (VFRW) during their Legislative Day Breakfast.  It was a pleasure chatting with activists from all over Virginia as they made their way to the Capitol to advocate for conservative. Our hallways were a sea of red on Wednesday, both from Valentine's Day decorations and the bright red apparel of the VFRW.

That's all I have for you folks this week.  If you have not had a chance to stop by the Pocahontas building for Valentine's Day before, I highly recommend coming by next year.  The staff  in both the House and Senate put up festive decorations all through the halls.  It truly is a sight to see, and our office was no exception with my Assistant Joy putting up all sorts of festive decorations for the enjoyment of members, staff, and visitors alike.  Next week, the House and Senate will hash out their respective plans for our Commonwealth's biennial budget.  I will be sure to update you all in my next column.  Thank you again for taking the time to read this, and for being active citizens that pay attention to state-level politics.

The War On Cops

Friday, February 18, 2022

By Gary Bauer

Like many major cities, Austin, Texas, wasn't spared from the rioting in 2020. The riots there didn't get as much attention as Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle or Washington, D.C., but they were bad enough. Businesses were vandalized and looted, and police officers were attacked with rocks, frozen water bottles, jars of paint, etc.

In response to this violence, Austin's Soros-backed district attorney yesterday announced the indictments of . . . 19 police officers for violating the rights of the demonstrators. 

As you might imagine, Austin police officials are furious. Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, blasted the indictments, saying:

"The socialist DA in Travis County indicted Austin police officers for doing their jobs during the riots in 2020. . . These indictments are strictly political in nature. . . All [the DA] has done today is ruined the lives and careers of police officers for his radical agenda."

This is the left's war on police, part of the left's war on normalcy. 

Austin is dominated by the left. The city defunded its police department in the summer of 2020, and, predictably, set a new homicide record the following year. The city is down 200 officers now, and I seriously doubt yesterday's news will help with recruitment. 

This is what happens when the left gets power – the criminals walk free and cops get prosecuted.

I don't know all the intricacies of Texas law, but Governor Abbott and the state legislature need to take action. Gov. Abbott should immediately pardon the officers if they are convicted.

Pushed to the Limit by Biden’s Border Sabotage, States Must Defend Themselves

February 18, 2022, Washington, D.C.

The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in response to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's legal opinion that his state's border crisis constitutes an "invasion": 

"What is happening at the southern border is without precedent in American history. President Biden has abandoned his core responsibility to ensure the integrity of our nation's borders. Not only is illegal immigration at a record high, the magnitude of death and destruction experienced in the United States at the hands of ruthless and powerful cartels is well documented. The Biden administration has created a constitutional challenge leaving states to explore alternative solutions. 

"Attorney General Brnovich's recent legal opinion raises important constitutional questions about what powers states may invoke to defend themselves in the face of the Biden administration's dereliction of its duty to secure our borders and protect the well-being of its citizens. We applaud his efforts and look forward to further analysis and open debate surrounding limits of state powers given the Biden administration's abdication of its fundamental constitutional responsibilities.

"Our Constitution does not leave states defenseless when the federal government permits a cartel-led invasion that allows criminals to prey upon our nation. We hope that states continue to explore every possible measure to defend themselves. The urgency of the moment requires this. The federal government under President Biden's leadership got us into this situation, it may very well be the states who help get us out of it."

Victory! Companies Fail to Protect H1-B Fraud

February 18, 2022

Court agrees with IRLI that tough rule is appropriate

 

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, a Washington, D.C., federal district court rejected an attempt by H1-B staffing companies to rid themselves of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that makes it harder to commit visa fraud. The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) had filed a friend-of the-court brief in the case urging the court to reach just that result.

 

As IRLI showed in its brief, rampant fraud occurs because the Department of Labor, by statute, lacks enforcement authority, and is required to approve applications for foreign labor as long as the forms are filled out correctly. In practice, this means that staffing companies get applications approved for any number of workers they wish, without even identifying any specific workers, and then are able to move foreign workers around the United States at will, without any oversight by authorities.

 

The companies' ability to move workers around at will means that they are also able to stockpile idle workers, without pay, in low-wage locations until they are needed in high-wage locations, where they are paid the lower wage of their previous location, thus undercutting American workers.

 

The DHS rule the companies challenge, by requiring a new visa petition whenever a worker is transferred, prevents these abuses.

 

"It's easy to see why businesses don't like this rule; they want staffing companies to move foreign tech workers around the country so they can be paid less, even if this harms American workers," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "But fraud on the American worker is against the law, and the DHS rule that was attacked here is clearly needed to stop it. We are pleased the court took into account the information we presented to it, and ruled in favor of American workers and American wages."