Congressional Roundup: STEM, H-2B visas, WIRe Act

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It’s June 5. Here’s a roundup of what’s been going on recently with New Hampshire’s Congressional Delegation

800px US Capitol Building at night Jan 2006
Congressional dome. Credit/Wikimedia Commons

Hassan wants more STEM Education

U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced legislation to modernize math curriculum and improve K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. The Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act would help schools to update their math curriculum to make it more relevant and applicable to real-world scenarios. U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Representative Jim Baird (R-IN) introduced companion legislation in the House.

“The United States must lead the world in STEM education so that we can continue to innovate and develop technologies that will help strengthen our national security and outcompete China,” Hassan said. “Our legislation would help schools adopt a math curriculum that teaches students how to apply mathematics to real-world scenarios and gain the skills that our innovative businesses need. I look forward to working with Senator Blackburn to gain support for this important bill to help students succeed in the modern economy.”

Recently she discussed the Endless Frontiers Act, another piece of legislation aimed at China

Pappas supports more H-2B visa
On the day that a new temporary rule from the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security goes into effect, increasing the number of available H-2B temporary non-agricultural guest worker visas, Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) is thanking the Biden administration for this action while calling for additional federal action to meet the workforce needs of small businesses across New Hampshire.

Recently, the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security published a joint temporary final rule making available an additional 22,000 H-2B temporary non-agricultural guest worker visas for fiscal year 2021.

“I appreciate the Biden Administration’s decision to make available an additional 22,000 H-2B visas,” said Pappas. “But this step is inadequate by itself and fails to meet the needs of our seasonal small businesses who cannot fully gear up for the summer without more visas and improvements to the efficiency of the program. I am calling on the Biden Administration to streamline and simplify the application process to reduce further delays in hiring, to examine the lottery system used to allocate the visas, and to reinstate the returning worker exemption. Without these common sense steps many small businesses will struggle at a time when we must have their backs. I remain committed to fighting for New Hampshire’s small business community, and I urge the Administration to ensure that the H-2B program meets their needs.”

Earlier this month, Rep. Pappas sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking him to consider additional factors in allocating H-2B visas, including a state’s unemployment rate. Pappas noted that because New Hampshire has a low unemployment rate it has a higher need for temporary workers through the H-2B program to meet workforce needs.

Additionally, Pappas shared the concerns he has heard from local businesses about the lottery system that will be used for distribution which prioritizes states with higher populations and higher unemployment rates. Because of these factors, two-thirds of businesses in New Hampshire would not recognize any benefit from this latest addition.

Shaheen co-sponsors legislation for injured veterans

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in introducing the Walter Reed Injury Recovery (WIRe) Act of 2021 to ensure wounded officers and their families have immediate access to specialized facilities at Walter Reed.

“For American public servants suffering from brain injuries due to reported directed-energy attacks, living with the symptoms of their ailments and having to fight for medical treatment has been an absolute nightmare. That is completely unacceptable – our personnel deserve better,” said Shaheen. “This has been a top priority of mine for years, and I’m glad to continue bipartisan efforts in the Senate with Senator Cotton and this group of lawmakers on new legislation that would require timely access to Walter Reed facilities for medical treatment. I’ll continue working across the aisle to care for public servants who’ve been targeted by these attacks and will keep up efforts to uncover their source.”

Walter Reed Army National Military Medical Center and its National Intrepid Center of Excellence has been the nation’s premier institution for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries for more than a decade. The WIRe Act will ensure that all U.S. Government personnel who may have suffered a brain injury as the result of an attack during the course of their duties receive immediate treatment at this facility. It also directs elements of the departments and agencies of the federal government to remove any bureaucratic impediments to the immediate delivery of needed services.

About this Author

Nathan Graziano

Nathan Graziano lives in Manchester with his wife and kids. He's the author of nine collections of fiction and poetry. His most recent book, Born on Good Friday was published by Roadside Press in 2023. He's a high school teacher and freelance writer, and in his free time, he writes bios about himself in the third person. For more information, visit his website: http://www.nathangraziano.com