Cornyn Hearing to Push Skil Bill - Part 2
Cornyn Hearing to Push Skil Bill - Part 2
Date: Thursday, September 07, 2006 5:11 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1551 -- 09/07/2006 >>>>>
Usually when a sham Senate hearing is held, they have the courtesy to
invite at least one token speaker from the opposing side of the issue. Sen.
Cornyn didn't bother with tokens - everyone he invited is a well known H-1B
visa pusher. Two out of the three are immigration lawyers who have an
obvious self-interest in H-1B visas.
Hearing transcripts can be accessed from this link.
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1801
We can learn a lot from listening from these people even though they come
from the "dark side". The speeches are quite long so I'm not going to
debate everything they said. Suffice it to say, there is a lot of shortage
shouting and fear mongering about the coming crisis if the Skil Bill isn't
passed. The analysis below is taken from sections that I thought were of
special interest.
NOTICE: The last part of the analysis of Phyllis Norman's testimony is of
critical importance. Do not skip it!
My commentary is delineated as follows:
COMMENT FROM ROB: blah, blah
The testimony is labeled by the speaker's name:
SPEAKER: blah blah
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Statement of Bo Cooper
Former General Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service,
on Behalf of the Global Personnel Alliance
Hearing before The Senate Committee on
the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security and Citizenship
on
"U.S. Visa Policy: Competition for International Scholars, Scientists and
Skilled Workers"
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Introduction: Immigration and American Competitiveness
COMMENT FROM ROB: Bo Cooper is an example of Washington DC's revolving door
- a public servant who goes to work for a special interest group. In this
case, he is working for an immigration law firm, so his interest in H-1B is
to help the lawyers line their pocketbooks with cash from processing visas.
BO COOPER: Mr. Chairman, we are grateful for the opportunity to testify
today. My name is Bo Cooper. I served as General Counsel of the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1999 to 2003, and I now head
the immigration practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Paul, Hastings,
Janofsky & Walker LLP.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper is a typical globalist. He sees no difference
between a worker who is a U.S. citizen and one with a visa. Globalists
consider all workers of the world to be "natural people", not citizens. All
he is concerned with is maintaining the supply of units of labor to
employers.
BO COOPER: For the United States to maintain its position of leadership,
the pipeline of knowledge and skills that leads into our schools,
laboratories, hospitals and businesses must not be blocked, whether the
source of these skills is within the United States or abroad.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Of course all the speakers had a variation of this line.
I'll try to resist repeating it as often as they did.
BO COOPER: There is a drastic shortage of visas for professionals.
COMMENT FROM ROB: This is perhaps the most outrageous gaffe in the entire
testimony, but you wouldn't recognize it without re-arranging the order of
what he said. To understand Cooper's flub, you need to know that foreign
students are allowed a one year "Optional Practical Training" (OPT) work
permit. OPT is sort of like doing an internship. The Skil Bill would double
the OPT from one to two years.
Notice that Cooper considers the foreign students who come to the U.S. to
be the "worlds best and brightest". Cooper uses that phrase and many
variations throughout his testimony. He also seems to think that U.S.
students are the world's worst and dullest.
Most Americans are given a 90 day trial period when they are hired. Cooper
doesn't think that's long enough for foreign workers - he thinks they
should be given 730 days to prove their competency. If Cooper is correct
that foreign students are superior then they should be able to prove
themselves just as quickly as most Americans are expected to. Most of us
are always told that we will be required to "hit the ground running" so I
say "what's good for the goose is good for the gander"!
If I was cross-examining Cooper I would ask: "Well, Mr. Cooper, if these
students are truly the "best and the brightest", why would it take two
years for employers to recognize their genius?" Surely you aren't giving
employers enough credit; or do you think U.S. companies are dumb and
dumber?
BO COOPER: Many of the worlds best and brightest students choose to
complete their college and graduate-level education in the United States.
The performance level of U.S. elementary school students in mathematics is
sagging. Too few undergraduate students pursue science and engineering.
Furthermore, as noted above, current law offers only one year of practical
training following the completion of a degree program. This limited period
of time is frequently insufficient to allow a U.S. employer to fully
evaluate a foreign national students skills and growth potential, and
because of the problems noted below with the unavailability of H-1B visas,
there are often times when foreign students cannot continuously work for a
U.S. company or maintain their status in the U.S., and thus have to leave
the United States.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper confirms what we have always contended - as long
employers can exploit the fresh young blood of H-1Bs, they won't hire
Americans. Employers might gripe about the delays to get H-1B visas but
they will wait until they get them before adding to their workforce.
BO COOPER: A new low was set this spring, when H-1B cap for Fiscal Year
2007 was reached more than four months before that fiscal year even began.
This has left U.S. employers unable to hire needed professionals for a
staggering 16 months.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper understands that H-1B isn't just for programmers.
It never ceases to amaze me how few people in the mainstream media
understand this, and even more disturbing how few immigration reform
activists acknowledge the simple fact that H-1B is used for a wide variety
of job classifications.
BO COOPER: Difficulty with the H-1B cap dampens the ability of U.S.
companies to recruit the best and brightest workers; and it discourages the
worlds most talented scientists, researchers, doctors, and other skilled
workers from considering a career in the United States.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper also knows who his daddy is - Bill Gates! I call
the legislation "Bill's Skil Bill" for a reason, and I don't think Cooper
would disagree.
BO COOPER: Microsoft, for example, has made a cogent and compelling case
for the urgent need to open our doors to the best minds worldwide.
COMMENT FROM ROB: I assume all of you have been reading my newsletters so I
won't go into detail about the evolution of the Skil bill. Cooper is well
aware that S. 2611 in the Senate contains all the provisions of the Skil
Bill. He would be happy if either of them were passed by Congress.
BO COOPER: Moreover, the Senate had already included a thorough and
far-reaching set of high-skilled immigration reforms in the comprehensive
immigration reform bill that it considered in the spring, S. 2611, and the
provisions of the SKIL bill -- along with other valuable reforms -- were
added into the bill before its final passage by the Senate in May.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COMMENT FROM ROB: Phyllis Norman is speaking for hospitals, who never have
enough cheap labor - especially when it comes to nurses from the
Philippines.
Testimony of
Ms. Phyllis Norman
Vice President, Patient Care Services
Harris Methodist Ft. Worth Hospital
COMMENT FROM ROB: Norman makes her case for the nursing shortage -
Americans are getting fat, old, and diseased, so we need more foreign
nurses to take care of us as we get infirm. Of course Norman uses this to
prove that all of our nurses are getting old too, so they need to be
replaced with young foreigners.
PHYLLIS NORMAN: These challenges include an aging population, an increased
rate of obesity, and the development of chronic health conditions in each
of those populations, which places huge demands on existing healthcare
services as well as requiring us to increase access to and availability of
services in the future.
The average age of an RN is 46, and they tend to retire earlier than many
other occupations due to the physical, mental, and emotional demands of the
job. Within the next ten years, a large portion of the most experienced RN
population will begin to decline due to full or partial retirement.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Norman says that it would be too expensive to train more
U.S. nurses (at least she is honest about that one!). She says there is no
quick remedy, but she is more than happy to get a quick fix of H-1Bs!
Notice she also blames a shortage of faculty, which of course she would be
happy to import with H-1Bs also. Norman claims that the shortage of faculty
is due to lousy wages, but she of course bemoans the fact that to fix that
problem would cost lots of money.
PHYLLIS NORMAN: There is no quick remedy to this problem, because it stems
from a shortage of trained nursing faculty and insufficient clinical
facilities. Both of these causes require significant amounts of money and
time to fix.
Faculty shortages are due primarily to poor faculty salaries compared to
those paid to practicing nurses by healthcare facilities, making it
difficult for academic institutions to recruit and retain qualified faculty
members, who must have higher levels of education than required for most
practice positions.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Of course everyone who argues for H-1B says that without
more visas, the U.S. will have a crisis.
PHYLLIS NORMAN: It is estimated that 15% of new nurses being licensed in
the U.S. each year are foreign graduates. Any interruption of their
avaialbilty has an immediate and very detrimental effect on the healthcare
industry, making an already difficult situation worse. But just such an
interruption already occurred in 2005 and another looms for this fall.
Without Congressional action we face a crisis in this area.
As I have explained, we face a crisis within the next three months. We urge
that Congress pass the SKIL Bill, either as part of Comprehensive
Immigration Reform, as a separate bill, or as a rider to a year-end
spending measure.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Ah yes - the solution is at hand. If only Congress would
pass the Skil Bill Norman and her profit hungry hospitals could finally get
all the cheap labor they need! This is the most alarming part of the
testimonials, and I hope all of you have read this far.
Phyllis Norman is telling Cornyn what he needs to do, and she is very blunt
about her expectations. The scariest suggestion she has is that the Skil
Bill should be tacked onto the next omnibus spending bill. If that happens,
the Skil Bill would be impossible to defeat!
No H-1B increase has ever been defeated once it was inserted into a
spending bill. That's because no politician is going to vote against a
spending bill in order to oppose H-1B. He or she would be put in the
position of closing down the government to stop an H-1B increase. Folks,
that just never happens and if you need an example the increases of 2000
and 2004 are perfect.
The next big battle over H-1B will be to stop the Skil Bill from being put
into the omnibus spending bill.
PHYLLIS NORMAN: Luckily, there is a ready solution at hand. Mr. Chairman,
your excellent SKIL Bill addresses this problem along with providing many
other improvements to employment-based, legal immigration. It does so by
taking nurses and physical therapists out from under the annual worldwide
cap for skilled workers. It does so based on the existing designation of
these professions by the Secretary of Labor as "shortage occupations"
receiving blanket labor certification.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mr. Lance Kaplan
Partner
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen, Loewy, LLP
COMMENT FROM ROB: Kaplan's involvement with Fragomen is all you should need
to hear if you know about the history of H-1B. Fragomen is a rich
immigration attorney who is one of the original architects and lobbyist for
H-1B.
LANCE KAPLAN: I am here on behalf of the American Council on International
Personnel (ACIP). ACIP represents nearly two hundred in-house immigration
professionals at Americas leading corporations, universities and
research institutions, all of whom have substantial interest in
facilitating the global mobility of highly-educated professionals around
the world.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Everyone at the hearing complained that our universities
aren't producing enough advanced degree holders in science and engineering.
None of them mentioned the fact that there aren't enough jobs for the ones
we do produce.
LANCE KAPLAN: At the same time, developing countries are increasing
efforts to entice their domestic talent to study and work at home.
The reality for American employers is that our education system does not
produce a sufficient number of professionals that are able to compete in
todays economy. As evidence of our changing economy, job opportunities
that require a degree are rising at twice the rate as those requiring only
on-the-job training. Some estimate that by 2010, ninety percent of all
science and engineering Ph.D.s will come out of Asia. According to the
National Science Foundation, in 2000, foreign-born scientists accounted for
over fifty percent of U.S. engineers with a Ph.D., and forty-five percent
of our life scientists, physical scientists and math and computer
scientists holding doctoral degrees. These percentages are only increasing
over time as our children pursue other degrees.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Kaplan thinks that employers should have access to a band
of wandering gypsies called "global nomads". Without doubt, having a pool
of workers that employers can move around the world serves the best
interest of corporations who care to increase profits by fostering global
labor arbitrage. This concept will spell doom for the the world's middle
class if it's ever fully implemented. As you will see in the rest of his
testimony, we are very close to that point.
KAPLAN: We must recognize that international education is a fact of life in
the Twenty-first Century economy, with both companies and universities
clamoring for these "global nomads" who have the language and cultural
skills to live and work in multiple societies.
Even our government will be adversely affected by the labor shortage.
According to recent reports, about forty percent of those who work for the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are over fifty years
old, and the ratio of the number of employees over sixty to those under
thirty is three-to-one. The outlook for the manufacturing sector is bleak
as well, unless we take measures to enable an influx of skilled workers.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Remember when you were a kid, and you used the argument
to your parents that "all the other kids have the new toy, or they are
allowed to stay up until 10 pm, why can't I?" Kaplan uses the same
argument, but in this case he is using other countries as examples that the
U.S. should emulate. OK, kiddies, here he goes!
If our immigration policies and practices continue to deter the recruitment
or retention of the best the world can offer, the top talent will go
elsewhere and we will find ourselves watching other countries prosper at
our expense and loss.
COMMENT FROM ROB: If you ever doubted the connection between H-1B and
globalism, you won't after reading what Kaplan has to say.
LANCE KAPLAN: Many countries are realizing that the concept of "localizing"
employees at a host company site is no longer appropriate for todays
mobile worker.
I would like to share with you just some examples of what other countries
are doing.
COMMENT FROM ROB: The similarity of Australia's "Skill Stream" and our Skil
Bill is very eerie. It just shows how the globalists are all working off
the same blueprint.
LANCE KAPLAN: Australia
Australias immigration system specifically favors skills-based entry for
both temporary and permanent workers. On the temporary entry side, the
Australian system provides a mechanism to pre-certify petitioning
companies.
Under what the Australians call the Skill Stream, roughly seventy percent
of permanent entry visas (green card equivalent) would be allocated to
skilled workers.
COMMENT FROM ROB: It may be surprising to find that Canada has
institutionalized age discrimination, but don't think for a minute the U.S.
is one bit better. Everyone knows that H-1Bs are, on the average, young and
male and they are being used to replace older Americans. H-1B is
extrinsically linked to age discrimination whether our government admits it
or not.
LANCE KAPLAN: Canada
Canadian immigration policy has placed an emphasis on attracting young,
highly skilled immigrants. In fact, according to recent data, roughly sixty
percent of new arrivals to Canada are "economic immigrants." The immigrants
are selected using a point-based system that favors persons of relatively
younger age who have training and expertise in skilled occupations and
knowledge of the countrys official languages.
In June of 2002, Canada implemented a new set of regulations that elevated
the standard for skilled workers. The new system favors those with
university degrees and removed the requirement that applicants fit into
specific niches (preferred occupations). Instead, the new system permits
consideration of applicants with expertise in most skilled occupations.
This system is commonly known as the "Human Capital" model.
Most recently, Canada promulgated a new policy of permitting foreign
students who possess a Canadian post-secondary degree to remain in the
country and work for two years.
COMMENT FROM ROB: As you can see, there is nothing unique about the desire
in the U.S. for a labor pool of "global nomads". At first reading you might
think Germany stands out as the one country who wants to protect their
workers, but that doesn't pertain to programmers or engineers. Read the
special section on Germany for more on that.
LANCE KAPLAN: The European Union
In fact, on December 13, 2005, the Brussels-based European Commission
designated 2006 to be the "European Year for Workers Mobility."
At first, only Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom immediately granted
unrestricted work authorization and freedom of movement to nationals of the
new EU member states. Earlier this year however, Finland, Greece, Portugal
and Spain joined Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom in granting the
nationals of the new EU states access to their labor markets. Belgium,
Denmark, France, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands opted to lower work
permit requirements for nationals of the new EU countries. Austria and
Germany, citing high unemployment, have decided to maintain restrictions on
their domestic labor markets.
The new, "post-enlargement" countries, such as Poland, Slovenia and
Hungary, intend to impose similar work permit requirements as well as
restricted freedom of movement privileges on nationals of both pre- and
post- enlargement countries that impose restrictions on Polish, Slovenian
and Hungarian nationals. For example, in July 2006, Italy abruptly lifted
its work permit restrictions against all "accession" country nationals. In
return, Hungary lifted its work permit restriction requirements against all
Italian nationals.
COMMENT FROM ROB: The UK has a system that's worse than H-1B. They don't
even require a work permit for "highly skilled" migrants. Scotland has a
"Fresh Talent" worker provision that sounds just like the 2 year OPT in the
Skil Bill.
LANCE KAPLAN: United Kingdom
Most categories of employment-related temporary status in the United
Kingdom (UK) require a work permit. However, a few categories are exempt
from that requirement. One such category is the Highly Skilled Migrant
Programme (HSMP), a points-based scheme that permits individuals of
exceptional skills and experience to enter or remain in the country to seek
employment or take up self-employment opportunities.
In addition, the Scottish Minister of Finance recently announced the "Fresh
Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme" that permits non-European Union (EU)
foreign national students to work and live in Scotland without the need for
a work permit. This program is designed to allow foreign students who have
graduated from an accredited Scottish college or university to apply,
within one year of completing their studies, for an unrestricted, two-year
work authorization as a Fresh Talent worker.
COMMENT FROM ROB: The Irish data on foreign workers makes the U.S. sound
downright restrictionist!
LANCE KAPLAN: Ireland
Historically, Ireland has been a country of emigration. However, during its
economic boom of the mid-1990s, known as the "Celtic Tiger," Ireland
began to experience a shortage of skilled workers that was felt by many
other industrialized countries. From 1999 to 2003, the number of work visas
issued rose from 6,250 to 47,000. In fact, Irish census data suggests that
the population of foreign nationals within Ireland may comprise as much as
ten percent of the total population.
COMMENT FROM ROB: France's version of the OPT is for three years.
LANCE KAPLAN: France
France recently approved a new immigration bill that heavily favors highly
skilled immigrants. One key provision is a new type of three-year residence
permit, called a "skills and talents permit," which encourages selective
immigration for persons with higher qualifications and thoroughly
documented work opportunities.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Spain gives expedited processing for "highly skilled
immigrants".
LANCE KAPLAN: Spain
Spains immigration policy has shifted drastically towards welcoming
highly skilled immigrants during the past two decades. For example,
beginning in November of 2005, Spanish companies that have more than five
hundred employees in Spain and have offices in more than one Spanish city
would qualify for expedited processing of two types of work permit
applications. They are 1) "Temporary Work and Residence Authorization"
(reserved for quota-driven categories), or 2) "Transnational Work and
Residence Authorization" (reserved for employees who will remain on the
home "sending" company's payroll). The processing time is thirty to sixty
days, significantly shorter than the normal four to six months.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Germany protects their blue-collar workers, but everyone
else is thrown to the wolves.
LANCE KAPLAN: Germany
Although Germany has not agreed to lift all restrictions for new EU members
to access its labor market, it did pass a new set of immigration laws,
effective January 1, 2005, to attract skilled workers. The most frequent
categories of persons seeking temporary status in Germany typically include
highly qualified specialists or information technology specialists with a
university diploma. Permanent residence is possible from the beginning for
scientists with special technical knowledge, teaching or scientific
personnel in prominent positions, or highly qualified specialists and
managers earning minimum of EU 85,500 annually.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Like Canada, the Netherlands institutionalizes age
discrimination as long as the immigrants make a specified minimum salary.
In other words, they want youngsters to replace their more expensive old
geezers.
LANCE KAPLAN: Netherlands
As of October 1, 2004, the Netherlands began a new program to admit
"knowledge migrant workers." Under this new law, a highly skilled migrant
is defined as a migrant coming to the Netherlands for the purpose of
employment and earning a minimum gross income of EU 45,495, or EU 33,363 if
the highly skilled migrant is under the age of thirty.
COMMENT FROM ROB: New Zealand has an H-1B program on steroids since they
don't have an annual cap on the number of visas issued.
LANCE KAPLAN: New Zealand
The Skilled Migrant Category was introduced by the New Zealand Department
of Labor in 2003 to attract highly skilled foreign workers in critical
shortage areas (e.g. information technology, medicine, professions
requiring specialist certifications, or professions requiring
master's/doctorate degrees).
It is also important to note that New Zealand, with a population of just
over four million, does not have a capped temporary work visa system.
COMMENT FROM ROB: Foreign workers get expedited to the front line in Costa
Rica.
LANCE KAPLAN: Costa Rica
Costa Rica recently implemented a program that allows companies to register
for "accreditation" and receive priority processing of work permit
applications.
CONCLUSION
I constantly get email from people that say they are going to leave the
United States and immigrate to a country that respects its workers. My
recommendation is that you save your effort on moving and concentrate on
changing our laws. There is nowhere in the world that you can escape the
globalists so you better start defending what little you have left before
they take that too.
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