Capitol Hill

NRCA members continue to report one of their most pressing challenges is finding qualified employees to maintain and grow their businesses. At one recent NRCA meeting, several members said they see opportunities to expand their businesses but expressed concern about the risks of making the needed investments given the huge uncertainty regarding workforce availability.

NRCA is working to address the roofing industry's workforce development challenges on a number of different fronts.

Background

NRCA has long recognized fixing a broken immigration system is important to the roofing industry's future success. Although significant progress has been made, obstacles remain, and the prospects for achieving this long-sought goal remain elusive.

Incremental progress was made in 2013 when the Senate approved a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The bipartisan bill was designed to strengthen border security, provide more effective workplace enforcement without burdening employers and allow qualifying undocumented workers already in the U.S. to transition to legal status. It also would have established a new visa program designed to allow workers to come to the U.S. legally to fill positions when the economy demands, which is vital to the roofing industry. However, the visa program in the Senate bill was fundamentally flawed because arbitrary restrictions were placed on the construction industry by opponents of the visa program; NRCA was neutral when the bill passed the Senate.

Although far from perfect, the Senate bill was a step forward from the previous time the Senate attempted immigration reform in 2007 when a bipartisan bill imploded during floor debate. But the Senate bill faced strong opposition from House Republicans, primarily because of the bill's 13-year pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers and concern the Obama administration would not enforce border security provisions.

In mid-2014, a small group of House Republicans were working quietly on a proposal they hoped would be a viable alternative to the Senate bill. But the unexpected loss of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in a June primary election coupled with the crisis caused by thousands of migrant children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border that same month killed any chance Republicans would address the issue during an election year.

After Republicans took full control of Congress in the November 2014 elections, there was a glimmer of hope they would resume immigration reform efforts given the acute need to improve their prospects with Latino voters. However, President Obama's executive action to defer deportation and provide work permits to some undocumented immigrants infuriated even those Republicans who support immigration reform legislation, further politicizing an already divisive issue.

The current situation

Republicans now hope to move forward with an enforcement-first approach to immigration with targeted measures rather than one large, comprehensive bill.

In the Senate, the new chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), recently held hearings focused on immigration to develop the consensus needed for Congress to move forward. NRCA submitted a statement outlining roofing contractors' workforce development challenges and warning of more acute worker shortages in the industry in the future. The statement further outlined NRCA's support for a visa system that is governed by market forces, protects U.S. workers and enables construction employers to obtain the workers needed to grow their businesses.

Johnson expressed renewed interest in working to develop consensus and move forward with balanced immigration reform legislation, and NRCA applauds his efforts. House Republicans also continue to refine targeted immigration bills that could see action this year. But these efforts face formidable obstacles, including the severe mistrust between President Obama and Republicans, the outcome of a lawsuit filed by 26 states challenging the president's executive action on immigration and a legislative calendar crowded with other issues also needing the urgent attention of Congress.

Continued efforts

NRCA will continue working with its allies in Congress to advance balanced immigration reform. But enactment of immigration legislation appears unlikely in the near term, and the outcome of the 2016 elections will determine the opportunity to achieve reform in 2017 and beyond.

Duane L. Musser is NRCA's vice president of government relations.