NTRA to Host 3rd Annual NTRA Kentucky Derby Kickoff Reception On April 9th!

The NTRA is extremely excited to announce that we’ll be holding our Annual Kentucky Derby Kickoff Congressional Reception on April 9th on Capitol Hill! The reception will begin at 5 PM in the Cannon Caucus Room, and go until 7 PM.

We’ll have refreshments, as well as opportunities for photos with halters from the past two Triple Crown Winners: American Pharoah and Justify. There will also be other surprises, so be sure to get here early!

We hope to see you there!

House Passes Budget Bill, Sets Up Massive Reconciliation Bill, President Trump Addresses Joint Session

On February 25th, the House voted to pass a budget resolution to set up how much could be spent to implement the President’s priorities, including his tax plan. The vote passed 217-215, with multiple Republican members flipping their votes at the last minute.

The resolution now makes its way to the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will likely take a different approach – splitting the plan into two, with one bill focusing on defense and border security, and another on taxes. The President has so far expressed a desire to follow the House’s preferred strategy for one big legislative vehicle that includes all of his priorities, including funding for border security and energy measures.

Republicans plan to use reconciliation to pass these, which is a method that requires only a simple majority vote and bypasses the filibuster and typical 60-vote requirement, no matter which plan they decide on.

The House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) said House Republicans are hoping to have the tax bill on Trump’s desk by Memorial Day and pressed the Senate to expedite their process as well.

Trump affirmed his plan during his joint session address of the House, where, among other things, he repeated support for permanent extension of the GOP’s 2017 tax cuts, stated his goal was to balance the budget, and called for bonus depreciation to be retroactive to his inauguration date on January 20.

Tariffs Announced, Stallions Part of Exceptions

Recently, sweeping tariffs have been announced affecting goods being imported from various countries, including a blanket 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico. The tariffs would significantly impact the Thoroughbred racing industry. There are certain exceptions, including goods that are compliant under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which live horses are. Currently, these exceptions will last until April 2.

The announcements coming from the U.S. Government have been at times confusing, so the NTRA has released an advisory that would hopefully answer questions, which can be found here: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-advisory-and-faqs-on-tariffs/

In the meantime, the NTRA and its team have been working closely with Congressman Andy Barr’s office, the Trump Administration, and officials in Canada to work on this issue.

Government Shutdown Avoided

The House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (“CR”), or a “stopgap” bill, that would continue funding the government until September. The bill continues funding the government at the levels President Joe Biden signed into law, along with some requests from the Trump Administration, including an additional $485 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help boost deportations. The bill then moved to the Senate, where it faced an even stiffer test, as at least 8 Democrats had to vote for the bill, or else the government would shut down.

A government shutdown would mean a few things. First, a majority of federal workers would be forced to stop working and go without pay. Also, many federal government agencies and programs that rely on annual funding appropriations would be paused. Essentially, anything deemed ‘nonessential’ that requires federal funding would be stopped.

Both sides of the aisle were playing hardball and not revealing anything, though the Republicans boxed Democrats into a corner – either vote for the CR or be the ones to shut down the government. Ultimately, enough Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted for the bill to pass it into law. On Saturday, March 15th, President Trump signed the bill into law, funding the government until September.

This had become the priority for both chambers of the house, so there hasn’t been any movement on new Thoroughbred measures. Now the government is open for business and considering new matters. The NTRA will make sure to keep everyone updated on the efforts we think are most beneficial, including the Accelerate Long-term Investment Growth Now (ALIGN) Act, the Racehorse Cost Recovery Act, and the Racehorse Tax Parity Act.

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2025, Filing Dates Now Available for Supplemental Visas

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2025. March 5, 2025, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date on or after April 1, 2025, and before Oct. 1, 2025. According to USCIS, they “will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after March 5, 2025, that request an employment start date on or after April 1, 2025, and before Oct. 1, 2025.” However, exceptions to the cap continue to be made for certain categories, such as current H-2B workers in the United States seeking extensions or changes in employment.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are authorized to provide H-2B cap relief under the “FY2025 Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act”. In November 2024 DHS and DOL issued the rule Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase the Numerical Limitation for FY 2025 for the H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Program and Portability Flexibility for H-2B Workers Seeking To Change Employers. This rule exercises Congressional authority to release the maximum amount of supplemental H-2B visas 64,716 in a very equitable manner.

  • 20,716 returning workers for the first half cap
  • 19,000 returning workers for the second half cap
  • 20,000 for workers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica (North Central America “NCA” countries)
  • 5,000 for returning workers with a date of need after May 14th

Each year in President Trumps’s first term he released supplemental visas, and each subsequent year, President Trump’s Administration released more visas and/or made the announcement at an earlier date, which provides access to these H-2B visas when they are needed and provides greater certainty. Many seasonal businesses are relying on the full release of the 19,000 returning worker second half cap visas and the remaining 13,467 NCA visas.

According to the USCIS, those seeking supplemental visas should: “see the chart in the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2025 for information about the supplemental visas that are available and the relevant filing dates.”