The Associated General Contractors of America Wednesday came out in favor of a bill that would establish a temporary visa program for construction workers and other industries.
Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s chief executive officer, urged Congress to act quickly on the Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act, introduced Wednesday by Pennsylvania Congressman Lloyd Smucker.
“The shortage of available, qualified, workers in many parts of the country threatens to undermine continued economic growth,” Sandherr says, noting that 80 percent of construction firms reported last year they were having a hard time finding qualified workers to hire.
The AGC has long advocated for a temporary worker visa system that allows for more workers during periods when labor is scarce but lowers the number of visas during slower economic cycles. “Creating a temporary, flexible, worker visa system will allow all types of economic development to proceed without costly delays caused by workforce shortages,” says Sandherr.
Reducing illegal immigration will also create a more viable path for qualified construction workers to enter the country when demand rises and leave when demand subsides, says Sandherr. “This measure will help put an end to an immigration system that creates too many incentives for workers to illegally enter the country,” he says.
