# 119-hr-5494: Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act 119-hr-5494, Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-11] (R-PA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5494 - As of: 2026-04-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-5494 - Congress: 119 - Title: Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-09-18 - Sponsor: Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-11] (R-PA) - Cosponsors: 10 - Policy area: Immigration - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-04-21 ## Summary **Creates a new H-2C nonimmigrant classification for temporary nonagricultural workers.** The bill would set up a statutory H-2C program that ties worker admission to employer registration, numeric caps, recruitment rules, wage requirements, enforcement tools, and electronic monitoring. - Workers: H-2C applicants would need a valid job offer, background and national security checks, and would get portability and one-year initial terms. The law would bar employers from deducting hiring fees from wages and give whistleblower protections and remedies for aggrieved workers. - Employers and small businesses: Employers must register, meet payroll and tax attestations, and pay fees including a $500 renewal every three years and a 5% scarcity recruitment fee where applicable. The program would reserve at least 25% of positions each half-year for small employers and set an initial cap of 65,000 positions with a statutory floor of 45,000 and ceiling of 85,000. - Labor-market rules and enforcement: Employers must post and recruit for 30 days and honor a 45-day pre- and post-designation layoff window before hiring H-2C workers. The bill would require E-Verify or an equivalent, create a public registry and SEVIS-like electronic system, and authorize civil penalties up to $25,000 and criminal fines or jail for serious violations. ## Cosponsors (10) - Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27] (R-FL), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Ciscomani, Juan [R-AZ-6] (R-AZ), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] (R-MD), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (R-PA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. McCormick, Richard [R-GA-7] (R-GA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Amodei, Mark E. [R-NV-2] (R-NV), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Cuellar, Henry [D-TX-28] (D-TX), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3] (R-UT), 2025-09-23T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - New H-2C temporary work visa: benefit, medium. This bill would create an H-2C visa for non‑agricultural work. You would need a job offer from a registered employer. You would have to start work within 14 days of arrival and keep in touch with the agency before you start. You could be unemployed in the U.S. for up to 45 straight days. You could… - Pay floor and rights for H-2C workers: benefit, medium. This bill would set a pay floor: the higher of what similar local workers earn or the prevailing wage. Employers would have to pay required hiring fees and could not deduct them from your pay. Employers generally could not lay off U.S. workers from 45 days before to 45 days after H-2C hiring unless… - H-2C workers lose key tax credits: cost, high. If enacted, H-2C workers would not qualify for the health insurance premium tax credit. They also could not claim the Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Tax Credit. On a joint return, those child or EITC credits would be barred only if both spouses are H-2C nonimmigrants. - E‑Verify and tracking for H-2C hires: cost, medium. Employers hiring H-2C workers would have to use E‑Verify or a similar system. An electronic tracking system, like the student‑visa system, would track job offers and when H-2C workers start and stop work; it would be tied to the job registry and allow State Department checks. H-2C visa holders woul… - Caps and set‑asides for H-2C jobs: mixed, medium. This bill would set 65,000 registered positions for the first full fiscal year. Future years could rise by 10%, 15%, or 20% based on how fast spots are used, or drop by 10% in some cases. There would be a hard floor of 45,000 and a cap of 85,000. Half of the yearly spots would go to the first six m… - H-2C employer registration, recruiting, and fees: mixed, medium. Employers would need to register, show tax compliance, and operate in a full employment area. You would have to post jobs for 30 days on federal and state sites and do at least three recruiting steps within 60 days before filing. A 5% “scarcity” fee based on a worker’s annual pay would apply, and e… - Government study of H-2C impacts: mixed, low. The Census Bureau and several agencies would study how H-2C affects immigration counts, jobs, wages, housing, health care, and criminal justice. The report would cover national, state, metro, and county levels. It would be due to Congress within three years of enactment. ## Related bills - 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 - 119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act - 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act - 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 - 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025 - 119-hr-4299: Protecting Patient Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act ## Sources - [119-hr-5494 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5494) ## Related - [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514) - [119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4382) - [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262) - [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422) - [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909) - [119-hr-4299: Protecting Patient Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4299) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5494 (as of 2026-04-21).