{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://harris.house.gov/press-release/omnibus-contains-important-provisions-eastern-shore-seafood-industry", "Omnibus Contains Important Provisions for Eastern Shore Seafood Industry", "2014-01-15", "2014", "2014-01", "Republican", "House", "MD", "Andy Harris", "H001052", "harris.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nJanuary 14, 2014\nOmnibus Contains Important Provisions for Eastern Shore Seafood Industry\nRep. Harris and Senator Mikulski\u2019s Actions Achieve Results for Shore Seafood Companies\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 The Omnibus Appropriations bill, expected to pass this week, includes a provision important to the seafood industry on the Eastern Shore. As a result of bipartisan and bicameral work, Senator Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Andy Harris were able to get language included in the bill that allows the seafood industry to stagger the entry of H-2B seafood workers.\u00a0Staggering workers is needed because of the variation in timing and duration of seafood seasons.\u00a0\nMany of these seafood companies are family-owned and have worked for generations to produce seafood for local and world markets.\u00a0During that time, the industry has employed a considerable number of H-2B visa workers.\u00a0These visa workers are temporarily hired from other countries for seasonal industries and then return home once the visa expires.\u00a0Before being eligible for H-2B visas, a business must first attempt to find workers who are already in the United States. \u00a0\n\u201cOur seafood industry is critical to the Shore economy,\u201d said Harris. \u201cAllowing the staggering of workers will give businesses the flexibility they need to meet market demand, and I am glad Senator Mikulski and I were able to get this done.\u201d\nSenator Mikulski is Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Congressman Harris is on the House Appropriations Committee. Congressman Harris is working on legislation to address broader issues with the H-2B immigration program.\u00a0This would allow staggered entry of workers for all employers, not just seafood.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://harris.house.gov/press-release/omnibus-contains-important-provisions-eastern-shore-seafood-industry"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9987070225179195, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}