As you may have heard, yesterday a letter was sent to the President from Senators Cotton, Cruz, Grassley and Hawley, asking him to suspend the issuance of all temporary worker visas for 60 days, and to suspend the issuance of new H-2B visas for one year or until unemployment returns to normal levels, whichever comes first. The letter states that high school and college students can easily fill seasonal jobs in landscaping and at summer resorts. (Read the letter.)

An H-2B workgroup, including ALCC and NALP, is working on a strategy for the next twelve months. Unfortunately, due to restrictions, the July Legislative Days on the Hill have been canceled, which hampers our efforts at industry advocacy face-to-face. In the meantime, we are in contact with our representatives and pulling together responses from our members regarding this letter and the argument that jobs can be filled by high school and college students.

I ask that you review the letter and give me your response that we may use in future documents. You can submit your thoughts using this form. Anything submitted may be quoted in our communications with stakeholders and legislators. 

Additionally, we realize there is much concern regarding the updated guidance regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. We urge you to read the updated guidelines released this week by the Treasury Department, as it applies to all PPP applications, even those submitted prior to the guidance. We recommend that you contact your lender to be sure your application is correct and in keeping with the updated guidelines. If you have information or experience with the program that you'd like to share with industry peers, you can reply to this email and share it with ALCC. To learn more about PPP, visit the Treasury Department or SBA websites.

Warm regards,

John

John McMahon | Chief Executive Officer
Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado