Updated Sept. 1
Krieg DeVault this week told Congress that a former U.S. assistant attorney general has signed on to lobby for a major traveling outdoor amusement park headquartered in Indiana.
Deborah Daniels, who led the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs from 2001 to 2005, is representing North American Midway Entertainment, according to a lobbying disclosure. She is advocating for the Farmland, Ind.-based company with Krieg DeVault Executive Director of Government Affairs Thomas New on matters related to H-2B visas, which allow foreign nationals to hold temporary, non-agricultural jobs.
North American Midway Entertainment provides games, rides and food for fairs in 20 states and four Canadian provinces, according to the company’s Web site.
The company previously retained Krieg DeVault to lobby for it from 2005 to 2008. In its 2005 lobbying registration for the traveling outdoor amusement park, Krieg DeVault also then said it was advocating for the company on issues concerning H-2B visas.
Daniels said a Labor Department rule that will go into effect in October will increase wages for individuals who have H-2B visas and force companies that hire foreign nationals under the program to raise the salaries of their workers who are U.S. citizens. She said the wage increase is a "big problem" for companies that employ H-2B visa holders.
"They're not really sure where they're going to get the money," Daniels said.
A spokeswoman for North American Midway Entertainment didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Congressional records show that Daniels lobbied this year for a few Indiana organizations, including the Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and the Office of the Indiana Attorney General.
Daniels is a partner in the Indianapolis office of Krieg DeVault. She also served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 1988 to 1993.
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