Another proposal to increase H-1B
Another proposal to increase H-1B
Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 12:05 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1509 -- 06/26/2006 >>>>>
Lately there hasn't been much news about H-1B legislation in Congress
because for the most part the issue is being overshadowed by the showdown
between the House and the Senate over amnesty. Don't think for a second
that the lobbyists aren't working the issue though:
Silicon Valley's lobbyists in Washington are reviving
a touchy topic that's been largely dormant since the
tech bubble burst in 2001: whether we need to continue
importing thousands of foreign engineers and other
skilled professionals on temporary H-1B visas.
The Skil Bill with it's massive increase of H-1B, employment based green
cards, and F-4 visas is still alive and well, and now a new bill is about
to be introduced by Rep. Shadegg of Arizona:
Rep. John Shadegg, a Republican from Arizona, is planning
to introduce a bill this week or next that would nearly
double the number of H-1B visas granted every year to
115,000 from 65,000 -- a key goal of lobbying groups
including TechNet and AeA, formerly the American
Electronics Association.
This is somewhat of a surprising development because Shadegg has been one
of the very few Arizona politicians that earned a good grade on foreign
worker importation from American's For Better Immigration at:
http://www.betterimmigration.com/
Shadegg is running for re-election and apparently he is more willing to
feed at the lobbyist pig-trough than serve the people of this nation.
OpenSecrets reveals why he is now so supportive of H-1B. Communications and
electronics are his top contributors at $51,000 while he got a paltry
$1,000 from labor. This is proof that money truly does talk!
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/memberprofile.asp?cid=N00006425&cycle=2006&remove=B
Shadegg, John (R-AZ)
2005-2006 PAC Contributions: $266,173
Based on data released by the FEC on Monday, May 29, 2006.
Agribusiness $3,500
Communic/Electronics $51,000
Construction $1,000
Defense $1,000
Energy/Nat Resource $50,542
Finance/Insur/RealEst $51,000
Health $71,356
Lawyers & Lobbyists $3,000
Transportation $14,000
Misc Business $14,775
Labor $1,000
Ideology/Single-Issue $4,000
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/personal_technology/14903827.htm
Posted on Mon, Jun. 26, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Langberg: Tech visas come with obligation for valley leaders
By Mike Langberg
Mercury News
Silicon Valley's lobbyists in Washington are reviving a touchy topic that's
been largely dormant since the tech bubble burst in 2001: whether we need
to continue importing thousands of foreign engineers and other skilled
professionals on temporary H-1B visas.
Many U.S. engineers believe the H-1B program is nothing more than a back
door for greedy corporate bosses to get low-cost workers who can be quickly
sent home if they complain.
Employers, on the other hand, say they have lots of jobs they can't fill,
and argue that U.S. tech companies will lose ground to foreign competition
without H-1B talent or will be forced to move even more operations
overseas.
Whatever the truth about H-1Bs, Silicon Valley companies need to do more to
resolve the issues surrounding these visas.
The dispute, meanwhile, is likely to land in the lap of Congress.
Rep. John Shadegg, a Republican from Arizona, is planning to introduce a
bill this week or next that would nearly double the number of H-1B visas
granted every year to 115,000 from 65,000 -- a key goal of lobbying groups
including TechNet and AeA, formerly the American Electronics Association.
This would complement a similar bill introduced in the Senate last month by
Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas.
Also in D.C., the H-1B process is getting new scrutiny. The Government
Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released a report
last week criticizing federal agencies for lax enforcement of H-1B rules.
The IEEE-USA, a group representing engineers, seized on the GAO report as
further evidence the H-1B program is a failure.
AeA, meanwhile, added fuel to the H-1B fire last week by sending every
member of Congress a position paper arguing that criticisms of the H-1B
program are ``myths,'' three of which are worthy of debate.
The first AeA myth is that foreign nationals steal American jobs.
``High-tech companies are increasingly seeking skilled labor to feed a
growing industry and cannot find it,'' the position paper says. ``Visit the
website of many American technology companies and you will find thousands
of unfilled U.S.-based positions. Foreign nationals are critical for
filling this void.''
Norman S. Matloff, a professor of computer science at UC-Davis and a
longtime H-1B critic, counters that claims of low unemployment among
engineers don't count underemployment.
For example, many Silicon Valley professionals were driven out of the tech
industry during the downturn from 2001 to 2004. A former software engineer
now working as a teacher or a real estate agent doesn't count in the
statistics, and may be making significantly less money.
Current engineering vacancies could reflect employers unwilling to hire
older engineers, even if they've retrained themselves, when the companies
can hold out for the alternative of cheaper H-1B labor.
The AFL-CIO, in a February position paper, argued that H-1Bs and other
loopholes allow employers ``to turn permanent jobs into temporary jobs. . .
. As a result, working conditions for all professional workers have
suffered: pressures caused by employer exploitation of professional guest
workers coupled with increases in outsourcing continue to have a chilling
effect on any real wage increases for professionals, even those not
directly or immediately impacted.''
AeA's second myth is that foreign nationals are paid less than U.S.
workers.
``The vast majority of companies (hiring H-1B workers) play by the rules,
pay market wages and do not wish to see the integrity of the program called
into question by a minority of infractors,'' the position paper says.
AeA cites several supporting studies, although Matloff and other critics
cite competing studies and even interpret the same studies in different
ways.
It's impossible to settle the question definitively, in part because
immigration laws don't require H-1B employers to disclose sufficient data.
AeA's third myth is that H-1B employers are bound to their U.S. employers
``and are therefore little more than indentured servants.''
Legally, H-1B visa holders are free to take other jobs in the United
States, and some do. But any H-1B hoping for a ``green card,'' the
much-sought-after ticket to permanent residence, must restart the
application process if they switch employers. Given the glacial pace of
green-card approvals, this can create a de facto obligation to stay put.
Last week's report by the GAO said the U.S. Department of Labor isn't doing
enough to verify even the minimal protections built into the current H-1B
law.
From January 2002 through September 2005, the GAO reported, the Labor
Department approved 99.5 percent of the 960,563 applications it received
for H-1Bs -- a suspiciously high number.
``We do not know the true magnitude of the error rate in the certification
process,'' the GAO report concluded.
Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr., president of the IEEE-USA, issued a statement in
response to the GAO's findings:
``Implementation of the H-1B program fails every test of the principles its
advocates have asserted. Employers can and do give preference to H-1Bs over
U.S. workers. Employers who choose to do so can easily manipulate the
system to pay below-market wages.''
Silicon Valley's tech leaders have a broader immigration agenda with some
laudable objectives, such as making it easier for bright foreign students
to study at U.S. universities and for those students to remain when they
graduate.
To keep that agenda on track, valley companies should balance their demand
for H-1Bs with a commitment to making the program more transparent. They
should also support clearly visible programs to retain and retrain their
existing employees, so we can accept at face value their requests for more
temporary foreign workers.
Contact Mike Langberg at mike@langberg.com or (408) 920-5084. Past columns
may be read at www.langberg.com.
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