H.R. 7961

Summary

H.R. 7961, the H–1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act, was introduced in the House on Mar 17, 2026 by Rep. Michael Lawler (R) with 65 co-sponsors. It was referred to Judiciary, and last saw action on Mar 17, 2026: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Record

Text

H.R. 7961 has 65 co-sponsors.

119 HR 7961 IH: H–1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-03-17
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 7961  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   March 17, 2026   Mr. Lawler  (for himself,  Mr. Bishop ,  Ms. Salazar , and  Ms. Clarke of New York ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To exempt H–1B health care workers from the restriction under the Presidential Proclamation entitled  Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers , and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   H–1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act  .
2.
Exemption from additional fee for H–1B health care workers
(a)
In general
The restriction imposed, pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation entitled  Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers  (September 19, 2025), on entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) ), except for aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000, shall not apply with respect to any such alien who is employed (or has received an offer of employment) in the health care workforce (as such term is defined in section 5101 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( 42 U.S.C. 294q )).
(b)
Prohibition on additional fees
No fee may be imposed on an alien described in subsection (a) that exceeds the fee set forth in section 214(c)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(9)(B) ).

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

To exempt H-1B health care workers from the restriction under the Presidential Proclamation entitled "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers", and for other purposes.

Sponsors

Rep. Michael Lawler (R) sponsors H.R. 7961, and 65 members have co-sponsored it, 3 of them from the day it was introduced.

Michael Lawler

Rep. · R–NY-17 · Sponsor

Introduced Mar 17, 2026

Sanford Bishop

Rep. · D–GA-2 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 17, 2026 · Original

Yvette Clarke

Rep. · D–NY-9 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 17, 2026 · Original

Maria Salazar

Rep. · R–FL-27 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 17, 2026 · Original

Terri Sewell

Rep. · D–AL-7 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 18, 2026

John Mannion

Rep. · D–NY-22 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 19, 2026

Don Bacon

Rep. · R–NE-2 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 24, 2026

Daniel Goldman

Rep. · D–NY-10 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 24, 2026

Herbert Conaway Jr.

Rep. · D–NJ-3 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 26, 2026

Joseph Morelle

Rep. · D–NY-25 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 26, 2026

Show 10 of 66 rows

PreviousNext

Committees

H.R. 7961 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary

Judiciary

Referred To · Mar 17, 2026 · 2,181 Bills

Actions

H.R. 7961 has taken 2 actions since Mar 17, 2026.

Votes

H.R. 7961 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

H.R. 7961 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

• H–1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act — Display Title
• H–1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
• To exempt H-1B health care workers from the restriction under the Presidential Proclamation entitled "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers", and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

38 clients hired 37 firms and 185 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 7961 in 67 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Health Issues, Medicare/Medicaid, Immigration, Budget/Appropriations, Education, Veterans, Medical/Disease Research/Clinical Labs, Disaster Planning/Emergencies.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill. The 20 that filed most often, of 38.

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 185.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 7961 under Immigration, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 7961’s is Immigration.

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 7961, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. LAWLER:H.R. 7961.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I Section 8 Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution[Page H2551]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com