The Senate has approved a modified amendment to the massive stimulus bill (H.R. 1) that substantially limits employers that receive Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from hiring employees who hold H-1B work visas. This amendment was sponsored by Senators Bernard Sanders (I-VT) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). According to a press release from Senator Grassley’s office, Senate Amendment 306, referred to as the Employ American Workers Act:

[r]equires that a company receiving TARP funds and applying for workers under the H-1B process must operate as an 'H-1B dependent company.' This means they will still be able to hire H-1B visa holders, but must comply with the H-1B dependent employer rules which include attesting to actively recruiting American workers; not displacing American workers with H-1B visa holders; and not replacing laid off American workers with foreign workers.

This amendment includes a two-year sunset provision (meaning the law will terminate in two years, unless further legislative action is taken to extend it), an increase from the one-year provision contained in the initial draft of the amendment. The modified bill, however, is otherwise less stringent than the first, which set forth a complete one-year ban on hiring foreign visa workers.