Senate Makes a Statement About Illegal Immigration
By: Matt, January 26th, 2007
Whether it will actually take effect or not is unknown, but the U.S. Senate has just voted, 94-0, to add to a minimum wage bill a federal contracting ban for businesses in violation of federal immigration laws. The initial bill is intended to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour over the next two years.
According to various business lobbyists, the added sanctions are likely to be dropped from the bill, but the 94-0 vote gives a strong indication that such sanctions will likely be back before the Senate in the near future. The added violation sanctions, introduced by Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, would ban companies caught violating federal immigration laws from working on government contracts for a period of 10 years.
Not surprisingly, many businesses are perturbed by the potential legislation and many note that the bill would unduly affect small businesses - though there is no appeal process, there is a national security waiver that would likely apply only to larger companies. According to Jeffrey D. Shoaf, of the Associated General Contractors of America, “The Sessions amendments are comparable to using the nuclear option for a paperwork violation.”
Tags: associated general contractors of america, illegal immigration, immigration laws, minimum wage, u.s. senate
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