Protecting America and American Workers Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Immigration and Border Security.
Protecting America and American Workers Act
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program effective on the first day of the first fiscal year after the date on which the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security jointly determine that such immigrant visas are no longer necessary to offset certain status adjustments under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Until such time and effective on October 1, 2018, the annual number of diversity program visas is reduced from 55,000 to 5,000. Beginning in FY2019, 8,000 of such former diversity visas shall be allocated annually to each of three employment-based immigrant categories for a total of 24,000 additional visas each year.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 16, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 13, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced it on November 16, 2017, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 16, 2017, 3220 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3193 days ago, on December 13, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers