U.S. Senator Angus King, I-Maine, released the May edition of his podcast, Inside Maine. In the podcast, Senator King interviews Steve Hewins, President and CEO of the Maine Innkeepers Association and President and CEO of the Maine Restaurant Association, and Jack and Julie Burke, owners of the Pentagoet Inn in Castine. This month’s podcast focuses on the importance of the H-2B visa program for small business in Maine that rely on seasonal workers to contribute to the economy and help support local jobs.

“This is a tough issue and it’s an important one for Maine,” said. “And the important thing for me is that we’re talking about preserving Maine jobs by bringing in the temporary help that allows us to keeps our restaurants, hotels, motels and tourism businesses rolling. This is a big deal for people all along the Maine coast and inland and we’re doing everything we can down here to make it work.”

In Congress, Senator King introduced the Save Our Small Businesses Act of 2017with Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., legislation that would allow returning workers to come back without counting against the statutory cap, streamline the H-2B visa program to eliminate ambiguities and establish clear parameters for employers hiring H-2B workers, require increased coordination between federal agencies, and bring transparency to the program operations for greater efficiency while ensuring American workers are not displaced.

Senator King has also previously written to the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Labor, urging the departments to conduct an audit to determine the number of unused visas during the first half of the Fiscal Year and to also request that any unused visas be provided to eligible businesses that have been unable to secure an adequate number of workers due to the cap. He has also led a group of his colleagues in sending a letter to Senate leadership urging the Majority and Minority Leaders to implement cap relief within the H-2B visa program for businesses that need extra help during their peak seasons.

Following the government funding bill passed in Congress in early May, Senator King led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 87 members of Congress to again write to the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Labor to underscore the need to increase the H-2B cap for the fiscal year. 

The “Inside Maine Podcast with Senator Angus King” is a 30-minute program that aims to help keep Maine people informed about issues of the day, how they affect life in the state, and how they factor into Senator King’s work as one of two independents in the U.S. Senate. Senator King’s podcast builds on his existing radio show that airs on Newsradio WGAN in Portland, Maine between 10 and 11 a.m. on almost every last Saturday of the month.

A link to the May Podcast can be found HERE.